Now that 170th District Court Judge Jim Meyer has concluded a lengthy hearing on the fate of G.L. Wiley Middle School, parents and students should get on with the business of learning without additional interruptions.

Surely, there are lessons to be learned from this disrupting experience.

For starters, the Waco Independent School District administration and trustees need to be as open and inclusive as possible when conducting school business. Many parents and community members felt blindsided by the decision to close Wiley only two weeks before school started.

On Friday, Meyer denied a temporary injunction that would have kept Wiley open until a formal lawsuit against WISD is concluded. The lawsuit claims violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Education Code, racial discrimination and “imminent harm” and “irreparable injury” to Wiley students as a result of the school board’s 4-3 vote to close the school.

Meyer originally granted a temporary restraining order based on the claim that the school board was not specific enough in its notices of the meetings considering Wiley’s future.

Following the prolonged hearing, Meyer ruled that any mistake in the handling of the original public posting was corrected when the school board properly posted a second meeting to consider closing Wiley. The board voted again to close Wiley due primarily to low enrollment and high per-pupil costs, among other reasons.

Meyer’s ruling states he did not find a probable right of recovery or a probable injury involving the plaintiffs’ other claims, which included racial discrimination and violation of the Texas Public Education Code, as well as allegations irreparable harm to Wiley students.

Although the plaintiffs, two Wiley families and a group of Wiley supporters calling themselves Fighting to Save the Children, plan to pursue a lawsuit against WISD, it is difficult to imagine how this will help the Wiley students who will be enrolled in other schools.

Now Waco school officials must find a suitable use for Wiley. The first consideration should be to use the building as a school such as an expanded magnet school or an extension of A.J. Moore Academy.