Board votes to close 26 schools

Kansas City, Mo., School District will close 26 schools, following a vote of approval by the board of directors Wednesday.

The board cast a 5-4 vote in favor of Superintendent John Covington’s “Right Sizing” plan.

The plan, originally presented in February, includes the closure of 26 schools and for some schools to be moved to another building or restructured. Covington said the plan was necessary because the district was in danger of going bankrupt and too many students were not learning at a proficient level.

Board members Arthur Benson, Duane Kelly, Joel Pelofsky, Derek Richey and Airick Leonard West voted for the plan.

Board members Cokethea Hill, Helen Ragsdale, Ray Wilson and board president Marilyn Simmons voted against the plan.

Covington said he was “thankful” to school board members for approving the plan.

“No one likes closing schools,” Covington said. “It is hard on families and hard on the community. … It was unquestionably the right thing to do.”

Simmons said she still had concerns the plan was too much to implement at once and would drive more people out of the district.

“I surely hope for the sake of the district I am wrong,” she said.

Following the vote, she urged the district work “harder than ever before” to rebuild, and support parents and students.

Now the district will start the process of implementing a transition plan, which includes moving teachers and students to new buildings. Nearly 300 teachers will not have their contracts renewed under the plan, Covington said.

The new structure will be in place by August, at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, he said.

The approved “Right Sizing” plan is as follows:

Recommended for closure

High schools: Westport High and Southeast High at Manual

Middle Schools: Afrikan-Centered Education Collegium Campus 6th Grade Center (relocation of ACE Upper Campus/former Southeast High building); Kansas City Middle School of The Arts (combining with Paseo Academy, grades 7-12); Lincoln College Prep (combining with high school students, grades 6-12 in high school building); and Westport Middle School (building to be used for staging).

Elementary schools: Askew, Franklin (program to move to Faxon building),

Knotts, Ladd, Longan French Immersion (program to be added to Foreign Language Academy), McCoy, Moore, Northeast, Pinkerton, Richardson (program to move to Weeks/King complex), West Rock Creek, ACE Lower Campus (relocation of ACE Upper Campus/former Southeast High building), Swinney, and Woodland.

Alternative schools (status of programs to be determined): C.R. Anderson High at Fairview, Teenage Parent Center and Central Academy (middle school).

Early Childhood Centers (buildings to close, programs to move to elementary schools):

Douglas, Clymer, Guinotte, Manor (buildings are leased for Head Start, will no longer be used), and Scarritt.

Administrative/support facilities

The following schools will be restructured per the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Districts may take this action when a school has been ruled academically deficient: Central High School, King Elementary/Weeks Early Childhood Center, and Melcher, Rogers and Troost elementaries.

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