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Wichita (Kansas) board approves facilities plan that calls for closing and consolidating many schools
Aug. 29, 2024
The Wichita (Kansas) School Board has unanimously approved a facilities plan that calls for closings, consolidations and new “right-sized” buildings as the district responds to anticipated enrollment declines.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the district may put a $450 million bond proposal before voters to pay for the plan.
The district already has shuttered some campuses; it closed two middle schools — Hadley and Jardine — and four elementary schools — Clark, Cleveland, Park and Payne — earlier this year.
The plan approved Monday calls for closing L’Ouverture, OK, Pleasant Valley and Woodland elementary schools and converting Isely and Cessna elementary schools to K-8 schools.
The facilities housing Adams, Black, Caldwell, Irving and McLean elementary schools and Truesdell middle school would be demolished and rebuilt.
The district would also build a new Coleman Middle School; the existing building would be renovated and repurposed for relocated Chester Lewis, Gateway, and EI Academy schools. Little Early Childhood Center, Sowers and Dunbar would also be relocated.
“More closures are inevitable,” said Luke Newman, director of facilities. “This plan positions us for more sustained future-ready success by providing new and innovative spaces for our kids to learn, and it’s an investment in the future of our city, communities and kids.”
If a bond issue fails, Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld says, the facilities master plan would remain in place, but it could take nearly 30 years to complete instead of five or six years.
The facilities master plan approved by the board gives the school district “an ability to control our destiny, so to speak,” Bielefeld said, “as opposed to just reacting.”
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