Several factors leading Wichita schools to consider cuts to buildings
25 January 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Wichita Public Schools showcased what’s different about their 25 magnet schools in the district Wednesday night, but not all the options seen are expected to be available next school year.
The district announced this week they plan to close several schools to make up for a shortfall in the budget.
The district and a board member say they don’t know what the process will look like. It’s unclear where students moving from the closed schools may end up, and they can’t say who will have first pick when deciding where to go. It’s yet another hurdle for parents.
KSN spoke with a few parents at the showcase. Almost everyone was unaware of the closures.
USD 259 parent Eddie Moore and his family are currently deciding where his daughter Isabella will start sixth grade.
“We were looking at a couple different schools; Coleman Middle School was one,” said Moore.
He says they live right by the magnet middle school. It’s his daughter’s number one choice.
“I think that she’s had her heart set on there; she’s had some friends that are going to go there, supposedly. Ya, I think it would be devastating if they ended up closing it,” said Moore.
Like many other parents in the district, Moore was unaware of the looming closures.
“Absolutely not. No, this is the first time I’m hearing of it, so we don’t know what schools will be closing,” said Moore.
Board Member for USD 259 Stan Reeser says they will announce what schools are closing by March.
“If for some reason one of the magnet schools was to end up on one of the closing list and then actually was closed, then we would have to have enough time for families to reapply somewhere else,” said Reeser.
Moore says if Coleman does close, they will have to start from scratch.
“Figure it out, going back to the drawing board, and figure what we’ll do next and go from there,” said Moore.
The age of the building, number of students, and projected repair cost will all be taken into consideration when deciding which schools to close. A list is expected to be released in mid-February.