As schools grapple with declining enrollment and budget deficits, the only solution for many leaders is to consider closing schools. Here’s how leaders are handling those conversations.
Hundreds of concerned family members recently entered Fort Worth ISD’s O.D. Wyatt High School for the first of several meetings aimed at gathering community input on school closures, the Star-Telegram reports.
Interim Superintendent Karen Molinar said the district is already compiling a list of potential closures.
“Tonight is not about recommendations,” Molinar said at the meeting. “There’s no recommendations that are ready to go before the board to take action. It’s a very long process that we started over a year and a half ago. We’re at a point in the process not that we actually are putting together names of schools to consider and have conversations about.”
There are several reasons the district is considering school closures, primarily decreasing enrollment, declining birth rate and families leaving in search of affordable housing, Star-Telegram reports.
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The Pittsburgh Public School District also recently shared its potential closure plan. Leaders have been working with a consulting firm to find solutions for the Pennsylvania district’s declining enrollment.
Last fall, the firm recommended closing 14 schools, changing the grade configuration of 12 buildings and relocating another three, CBS News reports.
“We’ve tried to keep the student experience at the center of our thinking. So yes, we’ve absolutely listened closely and responded to community feedback,” Education Resource Strategies President Jonathan Travers said.
California’s Franklin-McKinley School District voted this week to shut down three elementary schools before the upcoming school year due to a financial deficit and enrollment issues, NBC Bay Area reports.
Superintendent Juan Cruz said it’s a “very difficult time,” both for closed buildings and employees who must be laid off. Cruz said both steps were necessary for balancing the budget.
Tips for navigating school closures
Closing schools is no easy task. It requires community engagement and thoughtful conversation with your board.
District Administration has covered this topic extensively, including a conversation between DA’s Matthew Zalaznick and Carrie Hahnel, a senior associate partner for policy and evaluation at the education research nonprofit, Bellwether.
Here’s Hahnel’s advice for tackling school closures in a manner that ensures value and equity:
- Be transparent: Communicate with families that there will be benefits to switching schools. Ensure students will be relocated to schools that offer meaningful academic opportunities, rather than shuffling students to the next closest school.
- Address all angles: Very rarely are ethnic or racial breakdowns of students or communities a part of the discussion. Leaders often default to fiscal considerations as the primary driver of closures and ignore the demographic impacts.
- Examine broader attendance zone considerations: This includes which academic and extracurricular programs are offered—or not offered. Ultimately, leaders must engage with communities in recognizing the checkered history of closing schools in historically marginalized neighborhoods.
