An unspecified number of Wichita schools will be closed at the end of the school year to help offset a looming $42 million budget shortfall.
Staff will make recommendations on which schools should be closed and why at the next school board meeting on Feb. 12.
Decisions will be finalized by spring break, after ample opportunity for public input, Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said.
Closures will be limited to elementary and middle schools because of the logistical challenges of relocating 1,000 to 2,000 high school students.
The expected shortfall, brought on in part by declining enrollment and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds , necessitates hard decisions, district Chief Financial Officer Susan Willis told board members Monday evening.
Realistically, she said, balancing the budget will require either closing some aging and underused schools or laying off roughly 230 teachers, among other cuts. The district hopes to save at least $16 million through school closures.