Search Results
Two Springfield Elementary Schools Face Possible Closure
Springfield school leaders are further evaluating a proposal that may lead to the closure of two elementary schools.
Right now, four elementary schools are being considered for possible closure. Under Superintendent Walter Milton's plan, the list of schools will be narrowed down and only two of them will close.
As class gets out at Pleasant Hill Elementary School, parents wait for their kids, idling with questions.
"It's going to put a lot of kids out of place to go to school near here," mother Angi Puckett said. "Wondering where they're going to go."
It's being recommended that two elementary schools in District 186 close. Those being considered include Hazel Dell, Pleasant Hill, Laketown and Wanless Elementary.
"There's about $90 million of improvemements that we're doing throughout the district," district spokesperson Pete Sherman said. "These are four schools that we haven't gotten to yet."
Savings from reduced utility bills, reduced transportation, and the elimination of a dozen positions will save the district over $430,000.
"The hope is a good number of those positions will find work elsewhere," Sherman said. "We have about a 10 percent turnover rate through attrition."
There is enough space at other Springfield schools if consolidation takes place.
Multi-age classrooms (where grade levels are mixed) and larger classroom sizes would be considered.
"I'm upset about it because it puts too many students in one classroom to try and learn, putting pressure on kids," grandma Paula Cook said. "We need more schools, not less schools."
