ST. LOUIS (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
This evening, the St. Louis City School District voted unanimously to close seventeen schools for good.. School officials will close 14 schools this year and three by 2010. Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams will reveal the results of the vote Friday morning during a news conference.
Closing some St. Louis city schools this June could mark the urban district's turnaround. That's the view of Special Administrative Board president Rick Sullivan. "We think it's more efficient and in fact better for student achievement to have fewer buildings," he explained Thursday.
Shutting buildings is only part of the plan to improve the school district. Renovating some schools and constructing two new elementary buildings will help a marketing effort to attract new students to city public schools Sullivan said. Funding for renovation and construction could come from an $80 million fund tied to the Desegregation Settlement, federal stimulus money or voter approval of a $100 million bond sale that would not need a tax hike.
He agreed the shuttering of school buildings will be painful. "This is a hard decision for us to make. We know it's a hard decision for our students and families to live with who are in those closed schools." But the man appointed by then Governor Matt Blunt as the district's CEO believes students facing transfers next fall will be going to facilities that are "equal or better than where they are today."
Sullivan promised families will know by April what schools their children will attend in the fall. He expects redesigned transportation routes to be ready in early May.
More schools could be recommended for closure if the districts enrollment continues to decline.
School Closings:
Ashland Branch building (no students currently attend school in this building)
Baden Elementary School (students will go to Herzog and Nance)
Clark eMINTS Elementary (students will go to Ford Elementary)
Big Picture @ Des Peres (program being re-evaluated; students will go to other schools)
Mark Twain Elementary (students will go to Walbridge Elementary)
Meda P. Washington Early Childhood (students will go to neighborhood schools)
Scruggs Elementary (students will go to Woodward Elementary)
Shepard Elementary (students will go to Monroe Elementary)
Simmons-Marshall (students attend neighborhood schools)
Blewett Middle (students will go to L'Ouverture Middle)
Stowe Middle (students will go to Stevens Middle and Langston Middle)
Big Picture @ Turner Middle (program being re-evaluated; students will go to other schools)
Roosevelt 9th Grade Center @ Humboldt (students will attend Roosevelt High)
Big Picture @ Kottmeyer (program being re-evaluated; students will go to other schools)
The recommendation includes closing the following buildings in June 2011:
Cote Brilliante Elementary (students attend newly built north neighborhood school)
Mann Elementary eMINTS (students attend newly built south neighborhood school)
Sherman Elementary (students attend newly built south neighborhood school)
Closing some St. Louis city schools this June could mark the urban district's turnaround. That's the view of Special Administrative Board president Rick Sullivan. "We think it's more efficient and in fact better for student achievement to have fewer buildings," he explained Thursday.
Shutting buildings is only part of the plan to improve the school district. Renovating some schools and constructing two new elementary buildings will help a marketing effort to attract new students to city public schools Sullivan said. Funding for renovation and construction could come from an $80 million fund tied to the Desegregation Settlement, federal stimulus money or voter approval of a $100 million bond sale that would not need a tax hike.
He agreed the shuttering of school buildings will be painful. "This is a hard decision for us to make. We know it's a hard decision for our students and families to live with who are in those closed schools." But the man appointed by then Governor Matt Blunt as the district's CEO believes students facing transfers next fall will be going to facilities that are "equal or better than where they are today."
Sullivan promised families will know by April what schools their children will attend in the fall. He expects redesigned transportation routes to be ready in early May.
More schools could be recommended for closure if the districts enrollment continues to decline.
School Closings:
Ashland Branch building (no students currently attend school in this building)
Baden Elementary School (students will go to Herzog and Nance)
Clark eMINTS Elementary (students will go to Ford Elementary)
Big Picture @ Des Peres (program being re-evaluated; students will go to other schools)
Mark Twain Elementary (students will go to Walbridge Elementary)
Meda P. Washington Early Childhood (students will go to neighborhood schools)
Scruggs Elementary (students will go to Woodward Elementary)
Shepard Elementary (students will go to Monroe Elementary)
Simmons-Marshall (students attend neighborhood schools)
Blewett Middle (students will go to L'Ouverture Middle)
Stowe Middle (students will go to Stevens Middle and Langston Middle)
Big Picture @ Turner Middle (program being re-evaluated; students will go to other schools)
Roosevelt 9th Grade Center @ Humboldt (students will attend Roosevelt High)
Big Picture @ Kottmeyer (program being re-evaluated; students will go to other schools)
The recommendation includes closing the following buildings in June 2011:
Cote Brilliante Elementary (students attend newly built north neighborhood school)
Mann Elementary eMINTS (students attend newly built south neighborhood school)
Sherman Elementary (students attend newly built south neighborhood school)
