More schools have to close in Olathe, district says. Here’s the timeline
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Olathe Schools will use a phased decision process to decide future school closures.
- Specific closure recommendations to come after task force, committee meetings.
- Board will vote on closures in October & finalize redrawn boundaries in January 2027.
More schools in the Olathe Public Schools district will close in the future, but how many and which ones are still to be determined, according to district leaders.
The district is planning to reduce schools primarily because of a significant, sustained enrollment decline. With fewer students and tighter finances, the district needs to reduce its “footprint,” officials say.
This means the district is considering how to make its facilities best serve the number of students it has, with enrollment projected to decline further in the coming years.
At this month’s school board meeting, the district outlined a plan for how it will determine the number of schools that should be eliminated.
That plan includes three phases, with the first phase starting February and March of this year. By October, the board will be poised to vote on which schools to close.
Presenting enrollment numbers at the meeting, Olathe Schools Deputy Superintendent of Operations Jim McMullen said the district’s stretched finances are prompting quick action on the issue.
“We’re at the point now where we, really, given our enrollment and, frankly, our financial status, we’re going to have to make these decisions at this time,” McMullen said.
District enrollment declining
McMullen said Olathe Schools saw a continual increase in enrollment from 1965 to 2019, averaging a growth of 493 students a year during that period.
The district’s enrollment reached its highest level in 2019, when 30,216 students were enrolled.
Over the last six years, the district lost 1,762 students, McMullen said. That’s an average of about 293 students each year.
This school year, the district has 28,140 students. Olathe Schools projects a decrease of another 4,000 students by 2034.
“There are four elementary schools that you know used to have anywhere from 500 to 800 kids, and many of those schools are sitting at the 300 range or 350 range,” McMullen said.
Timeline for closing schools
While considering how to reduce schools, the district doesn’t plan to just cut its schools with the fewest number of students enrolled, McMullen said. It will boil down to what makes sense geographically too, he said.
Phase one of the district’s plan will establish the “Student Enrollment and Facility Alignment Task Force,” made up of one parent and one staff member from each school. They will be joined by principals, other district leaders and community representatives.
The parents and staff from each school will be selected to the task force by school principals, McMullen said.
The task force will meet three times between April and May this year to review enrollment, funding and school boundaries.
At the June board meeting, the task force will recommend a range of the number of schools the district should close.
In phase two, a steering committee will consider the data and turn the task force’s range into specific closure recommendations with a timeline.
The steering committee will continue to look at geographic distribution, enrollment patterns, and determine where closures could make the most sense.
At the school board’s September meeting, the steering committee will recommend which schools to close and a potential timeline for their closure, likely spread out over the next two to three years, not all at once.
In October, the board will be asked to vote on the steering committee’s recommendations. This will be the first board vote this year related to the closures.
The three-phase plan will conclude with a process of redrawing school boundaries, supporting families and staff through changes, and implementing logistics.
This will include meeting with affected communities and parents, sharing potential boundary options, gathering feedback and analyzing data to adjust options, McMullen said.
At its December meeting, the board will hear a presentation on the new boundaries for affected schools. Then at its January 2027 meeting, the board will vote to adopt final redrawn boundaries.
Board member Claire Reagan said at the February meeting she appreciates how the three-phase plan will allow time for the public, families and staff to understand the process.
“That allows our community all it wants to know — which buildings will be impacted — so there’s not this waiting game where everyone has bated breath,” Reagan said. “That (October) meeting we will have action.”
What happens after schools close?
Board Member Stacey Yurkovich asked McMullen what will happen to the buildings after schools close.
McMullen said it will ultimately be a decision of the school board, but each building could present different options based on the building’s usability.
In Kansas, there is a statute that gives the state the right to first refusal, essentially first dibs, on unused school property.
From there, McMullen said, the district could decide to repurpose it internally or sell to other entities.
School closures are both a part of, and separate from, the Olathe Schools special election this spring, where it is asking voters to approve $389 million in bonds.
The district proposes to use bond money to consolidate certain elementary schools, but more widespread consolidation and closures are in the district’s future, despite the outcome of the election, district officials have said.
