Here’s how you can ask questions, provide input on Wichita’s school closure proposal

Six Wichita schools have been recommended for closure at the end of the semester, but USD 259 is required by state law to hold a public hearing before any building is shuttered.

On Monday evening, the school board voted to schedule that hearing for 6 p.m. on Feb. 29 at the Alvin Morris Administrative Center, 903 S. Edgemoor.

The district also plans to hold a series of community listening and informational sessions geared toward parents and students of the affected schools — Clark, Cleaveland Magnet, Park and Payne elementaries and Hadley and Jardine Magnet middle schools — on Feb. 21, 22 and 26. Specific times and locations have not yet been announced.

Additionally, the district has established a hotline dedicated to answering questions about the closures that will be staffed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. That number is 316-368-8008. Community members can also email their questions to transform24@usd259.net.

Officials have said for closures to be implemented by the end of the semester, decisions must be finalized by spring break, meaning there isn’t time to reconsider which buildings should be shuttered. On March 4, the school board will either vote to close all six buildings or reject the entire proposal, necessitating a new cost-saving plan that would likely involve laying off teachers.

USD 259 is scrambling to offset a $42 million budget shortfall that coincides with the exhaustion of federal pandemic relief funds. The building closure plan is estimated to save $16 million and the district has developed a separate plan for saving $9 million that involves a 5% minimum cut to non-school program budgets (finance, HR, health services, etc.), pausing the district’s administrative intern program and scaling back the number of schools that participate in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) college readiness program.

This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 9:55 AM.