School closings move forward

Despite bond's failure, panel begins planning for consolidations

The Lawrence school district’s boundary committee Wednesday shrugged off the election results and plowed into details of closing East Heights and Centennial schools.

At the direction of the school board, committee members sketched new boundaries for five elementary schools that would receive students if the two buildings were closed in May.

The board will consider the boundary recommendations at a meeting April 14, said Tom Bracciano, the district’s director of facilities and operations.

Committee members convened one day after the board’s $59 million bond plan, which included money to phase out East Heights and Centennial schools, was soundly defeated at the polls. In addition, two incumbent board members who favored the bond lost.

Brent Lamb, a Centennial parent opposed to consolidation, was the only member of the public at the meeting. He said he was dumbfounded that closures still were on the table in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election.

“Proceeding with school closures is ridiculous,” Lamb said.

Consolidation opponent Leonard Ortiz, who won a seat on the board but won’t take office until July, said his victory would be bittersweet if the current board shut down East Heights or Centennial before he was sworn in July 1.

Under the committee’s plan, here’s what would happen if the schools closed next month:

These changes would leave the five schools with enrollments ranging from 189 at New York to 412 at Schwegler. Elsewhere: Kennedy, 372; Broken Arrow, 304, and Cordley, 260.

Interest among board members in shutting down three of the district’s 18 elementary schools — they already voted to close Riverside School in May — has been fueled by the possibility of saving $1.4 million in annual operational costs.

Sue Morgan, the only incumbent board member to win re-election, said dwindling state funding to public education left the board to choose between saving money through consolidation or trimming funding for extracurricular programs, school staff and other expenditures.

“We’re talking trade-offs at this point,” she said.

The board is working with a $4 million list of possible budget cuts.

If East Heights and Centennial were to close, it would require two formal votes by the board. Preliminary approval could be granted April 14, but final action would have to wait at least 20 days.