Wichita school closing plan unlawful, unjustified, says former state board member | Commentary
The rush to close six Wichita schools is not based on facts, nor is it legal.
At the Feb. 12 board meeting, school district staff claimed that there is declining enrollment, a $42 million deficit, a staffing shortage and $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance.
These claims are grossly exaggerated and not supported by their own reports to the Kansas Department of Education.
The way our new superintendent and his staff conducted the meeting, it was very clear that they do not intend to listen to parents, teachers or taxpayers.
In their mind, this is not a “recommendation,” but a decision they are counting on the board to rubber stamp on March 4.
But first, Kansas Statute 72-1431 requires them to hold a public hearing.
Then, they must wait 45 days after a vote to allow time for a protest petition to be filed with the state Board of Education.
According to K.S.A. 72-1439, they must also inform the state Legislature and wait for a response before reassigning teachers and students in buildings they want to close.
None of these legal requirements have been met.
Nor have district officials verified the urgency.
For example, there were 47,129 students enrolled in 2016-17. This year there are 47,174.
Twenty years ago in 2003-04, there were 40,068 students. So there’s no enrollment decline.
Plus, district officials have spent $263 million in federal COVID-19 emergency funds, but now say they are short $42 million and must rush to close six schools before April, without opening their financial records for verification.
What were these one-time funds spent on? Has the pandemic learning gap been closed?
Our schools are not like a piece of paper which can be crumbled up and thrown into the trash.
It takes years for teachers, parents and staff to develop a caring, learning environment for students in each school. These supportive relationships, built on trust and mutual respect, are destroyed once any school is closed.
If it is like in 2012 when they shut down Bryant, Emerson, Little and Mueller elementary schools, plus Northeast and Southeast high schools, the teachers and students were scattered, but the buildings are still in use, and we are paying more to bus the students.
Emerson is now called Gateway Alternative Program. Bryant is also a “Special Purpose School,” as is the former Northeast High School which has been renamed the Chester Lewis Learning Academy.
After spending $2 million on the old Mueller school and building a new one, they sold it for $40,000. It is now the excellent private school, Urban Prep Academy.
The former Little school is still maintained but unsold. So, there have been no cost savings.
In all, the district has nine “Special Schools” and six “Special Program Locations.”
These 15 schools have the highest cost per pupil, yet none of them were considered to be closed. They have the extra staff and space, so why not combine some of these schools to save the $16.1 million they say they need?
Clearly, it is now up to the parents, teachers and taxpayers who use and paid for the six schools to come and demand answers.
A series of meetings for district staff to try to justify their proposal starts this week:
▪ 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Marshall Middle School, 1510 N. Payne.
▪ 5:30 p.m. Thursday at West High, 820 S. Osage.
▪ 5:30 p.m. Monday at the district headquarters, 903 S. Edgemoor.
Also, you can speak at the public hearing scheduled for the board meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 29, at the district headquarters.
To sign up to speak, call 316-973-4553 by 4 p.m. the day of the meeting.
The board is scheduled to vote on school closings during its meeting at 6 p.m. on Mar. 4, at North High School, 1437 N. Rochester.
There are other options. So public and teacher input at each of these meetings is essential if these six schools are to be saved.
Walt Chappell, of Wichita, is a former member of the Kansas Board of Education, 2008-2012.
