‘Difficult decisions’: On split vote, Kansas City district to close these 2 schools
On a split vote, the Kansas City school board on Wednesday agreed to close two elementary schools at the end of this school year, scaling back a previous proposal that would have shuttered four buildings at once.
The board voted 4-2 to close Troost and Longfellow elementary schools. Officials say both buildings are under-enrolled and outdated, and closing them will free up funds to help avoid a budget shortfall and improve academic offerings. The district expects to save $2.4 million.
“This is a very tough spot to be in as a district and a community. So many parts of me are deeply saddened by where we sit, and I wish we did not have to make the decision that we are making right now,” said board member Tanesha Ford, who voted in favor of the plan. “…I believe our district and system overall has too many schools than we have students and we do need to make some very difficult decisions.”
After community outcry, officials tossed out a previous proposal that would also have closed Central High School and James Elementary School by next fall. And the district hit pause on a long-term restructuring proposal, which had called for closing 10 schools over the next several years — a plan that led to petitions and months of contentious meetings with parents and alumni fighting to save their schools.
Board members Nate Hogan and Kandace Buckner voted against the plan.
“I cannot in good conscience vote to close a school doing exactly what we want them to do, increasing achievement and increasing enrollment,” Buckner said. “…I know that closing schools is a reality we need to face, but I do believe we have put the cart before the horse.”
While Longfellow Elementary, at 2830 Holmes St., has seen improved student achievement, officials said the building is in the worst condition of any school in the district. The school, for example, temporarily closed last fall after a carbon monoxide leak sent several students to the hospital. It has $6.5 million in deferred maintenance costs.
Longfellow has only 235 students, while the school’s capacity is 325. The school’s enrollment fell from 260 in 2018, but saw a slight uptick this year after dropping to 198 last year.
Troost Elementary, 1215 E. 59th St., also is under-capacity, with 250 students, down from 370 in 2018. In addition, officials said, the school has $4.3 million in deferred maintenance costs. Officials are recommending keeping the building for future district use.
Board member Rita Cortés called the plan a “meaningful first step,” but said several factors would need to change to help improve the district’s finances and avoid future closures.
Hogan, who voted “no,” said he worries “deeply about delaying the inevitable.”
“We know there are forces that fight against closure, not because they care about the district, but because they desire to create a future state absent of KCPS. I fear without bold action, the beginning of the end is near,” Hogan said. “…I’m sad we’re likely going to make a decision that prevents another generation of students from getting what they desperately need and deserve.”
‘Worth fighting for’
While the district could likely bring forward school closure proposals again in the future, many concerned parents at Central and James said they felt their voices had been heard.
“I cried. Honestly I did,” said Dalia Rodriguez, whose daughter attends James Elementary. She spoke in Spanish through an interpreter in an interview with The Star earlier this month. “We’re seeing some of those results of our efforts that we’ve placed into this. … As long as we continue working hand-in-hand as a community, we know that we have that power to defend ourselves.”
Several residents on Wednesday applauded Interim Superintendent Jennifer Collier, saying she inherited a difficult situation but managed to rebuild some trust within the community and reignite excitement for their public schools. Many neighborhood leaders say they will continue to work with the district and engage their communities to try to improve their schools and keep them open.
“Our work as a neighborhood is not yet done,” said Gregg Lombardi, executive director of the Lykins Neighborhood Association. The neighborhood’s Whittier Elementary was previously recommended for closure. “We’ve found we have a school that’s worth fighting for.”
Parents and alumni worried families would flee the district if they lost their neighborhood schools rather than bus their students to schools miles away. Neighborhood associations were concerned the original plan would have dealt a blow to their efforts to revitalize, if families do not have a school nearby enticing them to move in or stay there. And parents had safety concerns if their children are sent to rival schools in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
The district proposed closing 10 schools to avoid an expected $25 million revenue shortfall by 2025.
KCPS has an overstock of deteriorating buildings operating under capacity, officials say, and is spending more than neighboring districts on operational costs, such as transportation, security and utilities. After decades of dwindling enrollment, with Kansas City students flocking to charter schools and suburban districts, KCPS leaders say it is no longer feasible to operate all of its 37 school buildings, many of which have millions of dollars in deferred maintenance costs.
The financial strain has often left students in under-enrolled buildings without full-time music or art teachers, science labs and extracurriculars.
The long-term plan called for using money saved to expand academic offerings, update classrooms, implement career-readiness programs, add world language classes, plus ensure all high schools once again have bands and football teams.
2024 bond vote
Parts of the plan would have required KCPS to pass a bond initiative to fund facility improvements — something that many were skeptical would be successful since voters haven’t passed such a proposal since 1967. Many nearby suburban districts, meanwhile, have successful bond elections every several years to fund projects.
Some worried that Kansas City residents would not support a bond if the school board approved closing 10 schools.
Now, the district plans to bring forward a bond proposal in spring of next year before moving ahead with any more closures.
Even with only two schools closing before next fall, officials said earlier this month the district would still immediately implement some academic improvements, such as expanding instrumental music and foreign language opportunities, plus adding more math and reading support.
Collier said at a school board meeting earlier this month that she hopes the district will grow enrollment and avoid more closures. Officials aim to continue improving academic achievement, graduation rates and other metrics that helped the district regain full state accreditation last year for the first time in two decades.
“We want to give some space and time for schools to be able to make the kind of improvements that we’re looking for around enrollment, around academics, around increasing attendance, before we would even potentially come back with any other recommendations,” Collier said earlier this month. “And the hope is that we will see such an improvement that we wouldn’t need to have as many (school closure) recommendations as we initially brought forward.”
Collier said the district is evaluating schools based on academic performance, enrollment, population trends, impact on at-risk students, facility conditions and operational costs, such as transportation and utilities.
In the meantime, the district continues to search for its next superintendent. Collier was named interim superintendent after Mark Bedell resigned this past summer. District officials expect the search to wrap up by the end of next month.
This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 8:57 PM.
