Kansas City to Close Nearly Half It's Schools

[y04185]

Full story


Superintendent John Covington listens to citizens during a meeting of the Kansas City School Board on Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. The Kansas City school board voted to close nearly half the district's schools in a desperate bid to stay afloat.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City's school superintendent said Thursday the plan to shutter nearly half the district's schools, while "painful," will move forward quickly so that all the closures will be complete by fall.

The board voted 5-4 after parents and community leaders made final pleas to spare the schools even as the beleaguered district seeks to erase a projected $50 million budget shortfall. Administrators say they had no choice because without them, the district would have been in the red by 2011.

"It has been a difficult and painful and emotional process that affects our entire community," superintendent John Covington said at a news conference. "No one likes closing schools."

Now officials have to focus on the massive job of downsizing the district — reworking school bus routes, figuring out what to do with vacant buildings and slashing its payroll.

[EPJr]

If KC is anything like Richmond it is well overdue.
Richmond schools are half empty but nobody wants "their" school closed.
So for political reasons only it has twice as many schools as it needs.
This also have a school with 700 kids playing against county schools with over 2,000 kids.

[y04185]

EPJr, you are so correct.  I wish Richmond would close more schools.  The district is not growing.

[SkegeeFAMU]

If KC is anything like Richmond it is well overdue.
Richmond schools are half empty but nobody wants "their" school closed.
So for political reasons only it has twice as many schools as it needs.
This also have a school with 700 kids playing against county schools with over 2,000 kids.

A lot of decisions that many school districts needed to make years ago, but didn't make because of political or sentimental reasons are being forced upon them now because of the budget cuts.

[Wildcat1025]

If KC is anything like Richmond it is well overdue.
Richmond schools are half empty but nobody wants "their" school closed.
So for political reasons only it has twice as many schools as it needs.
This also have a school with 700 kids playing against county schools with over 2,000 kids.

A lot of decisions that many school districts needed to make years ago, but didn't make because of political or sentimental reasons are being forced upon them now because of the budget cuts.

 

[Cholly]

Ahhh... the article states CLEARLY that this downsizing is due to a $50 million budget shortfall.

Now... seeing as how it was years of de-regulation and republiklan mismanagement of the economy, you wonder how the good people of the Show-Me state could even CONSIDER voting for them in the mid-terms.