In a 4-1 vote, the South Whidbey School District approved a motion to close Langley Middle School no later than September, 2012, and move grades six through eight to a new junior high to be established at South Whidbey High School.

The lone dissenter, board member Steven Scoles, argued unsuccessfully that the target for closure should be the primary school.

The vote came at 1:10 a.m. Thursday, July 23, after a lengthy discussion.

In a separate vote, the board authorized District Superintendent Fred McCarthy to form a transition committee to begin the task of moving students to the high school and find alternate uses for the LMS campus.

All district operations will be on Maxwelton Road by the fall of 2012.

At 8 a.m. Friday, July 24 the board will hold a retreat at the home of board chair Fred O’Neal to hear McCarthy’s plan of action.