The key component in the Emporia Public Schools cost containment plan was the subject of a special meeting Wednesday.
Board members heard about 45 minutes’ worth of testimony and comments from Logan Avenue parents, teachers, staffers and neighborhood residents as they near a decision on whether to end school operations, possibly saving as much as $1.4 million or nearly 30 percent of the overall cost savings goal of almost $5 million. Among those at the podium was Olivia Grover, who suggested closing another school instead.
Logan Avenue teacher Daniel Juarez says the district has its eye on closing a school with diverse backgrounds in an area of town that is underserved in a lot of ways.
Patricia Parks the closure would be disruptive.
Sarah Megredy asked board members to look beyond the finances when making a final decision.
Superintendent David McGehee had to outline the reasons for proposing the Logan Avenue closure before turning the microphone over to residents for their comments, and he didn’t vary from what he has said earlier in the process: Logan Avenue has the lowest enrollment of any district elementary at a time when the district has already lost 1,000 students over the last decade and could lose around 400 in the upcoming academic year. With enrollment locally and statewide likely declining through at least 2041, USD 253 spending around $2 million more than it is receiving in state aid this year and on track to burn through its end-of-cash reserves by the 2029-30 academic year at this pace and other factors, McGehee says Logan Avenue was the unpleasant but obvious choice. He says he didn’t hear anything he wasn’t expecting from residents who spoke Wednesday.
With enrollment declines noted across Kansas, USD 253 isn’t alone in these conversations.
Board members could well vote on Logan Avenue as part of their regular meeting April 22, thus setting up possible moves of the district office out of Mary Herbert and Flint Hills Learning Center out of Flinthills Mall — but that vote isn’t the final step in the process. McGehee says a vote to end school operations triggers a 45-day protest petition window to the Kansas State Board of Education, which has another 45 days to issue its recommendations before another local public hearing and USD 253 board vote.
Click here for KVOE’s YouTube channel, including videos related to tonight’s special meeting.
