COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. -- Breakfast welcomed Evergreen Elementary School faculty on Monday as they prepared for a school year to feature many new faces.

• Columbus County Board of Education voted to close Chadbourn Middle School due to low enrollment
• Chadbourn had 98 students and four core class teachers
• Classes start for Columbus County on Aug. 27

Evergreen Principal Georgia Spaulding held a meeting for teachers, new and old, to get to know each other and to address school rules before the school year starts. Ten faculty members from Chadbourn Middle School are joining Evergreen after Columbus County Board of Education voted to close Chadbourn due to low enrollment.

So far, the teachers say the transition has gone well.

"I've already started making new friends here, and I think we're going to be able to work together well," said David Barkley, band and chorus instructor.

Barkley taught at Chadbourn for 15 years and her, and other teachers, said they hate to see a community school go. One teacher, Khadijah Tart, who is also making the transfer said she went to Chadbourn herself.

"It really hurts, I'm not going to try to sugar coat it," said Tart. "It hurts a lot, but at the end of the day I'm hoping that this move is better for our students."

Chadbourn had 98 students and Tart said only four core class teachers, meaning sometimes students were 40 to a classroom. Tart said she taught four subjects, was the softball coach, acted as a counselor for students, and even took kids home when asked.

"I did what I had to do to make sure that they succeeded, no matter what the circumstance was," said Tart. "So when I look at the whole outcome, no I didn't want to leave, but at the end of the day, like I said, I want what's best for the kids."

She said being at Evergreen and only having two subjects to teach will take a huge weight off her shoulders as a third year teacher.

While the teachers are still getting adjusted to their new school, they hope the students will do the same.

"The focus of our school is not just the school itself, but on the individual student and helping them move forward, progress and realize that their education will continue." said Barkley. "They'll end up being a better student."

Classes start for Columbus County on Aug. 27.