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Home > Blogs > Springfield Schools News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > November > 14 > Entry
District facilities recommendations coming soon
A Springfield board committee will make facilities recommendations in December and January to move central offices out of South High School and possibly to close one school, board Vice President and committee chairman Ed Leventhal said Thursday.
The district’s central offices are the only remaining operations in South High School and the short-term committee has been looking at options for moving those employees out of the school over the last several months.
The committee will make a recommendation at the Dec. 11 meeting, said Leventhal.
“We are trying to weight whether we move that to a current facility where we have room or to some place on the open market,” he said.
There will be some costs associated with either selection, either renovations to school space or rent for a new space, Leventhal said. The committee is also considering whether all of the offices in the central administration need to be together.
In January the committee will make its final recommendation on whether to close a school as suggested by a state auditor earlier this year, said Leventhal.
The auditor recommended closing a middle school immediately and an elementary in the future if enrollment declines persist. Clark Middle School and Fulton Elementary School are the two lowest capacity schools in the district, according to the audit.
Otis Williams, chair of the local Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a member of the committee, urged board members not to close a school in the southwest corner of the city. He pointed to that area’s loss of South High School as a reason not to close another school there.
“I feel that the southwest quadrant has already suffered enough,” he said. “They should not even be considered. They’ve taken too many beatings. If we’re going to think about closing something down, let’s stay away from over there.”
There will be some costs with closing the school in the first years, said Leventhal.
“To close a school, the first year’s probably going to cost you about $100,00 to $110,000,” he said. The cost would decrease in the second and third year.
All of Springfield’s school buildings are new built in the last several years through a partnership with the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
If the board elects to close a school it would be part of a projected $1.4 million in budget cuts needed for next year, said Leventhal.
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Comments
By Lee
November 14, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this
When the SCS redrew the district, it set Clark and Fulton up for closure. Their intentions were to keep Snowhill full. This act, in conjunction with a few others, allowed Snowhill to recieve more Title I dollars. The majority of which would have stayed at Fulton.By Lee
November 14, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this
When the SCS redrew the district, it set Clark and Fulton up for closure. Their intentions were to keep Snowhill full. This act, in conjunction with a few others, allowed Snowhill to recieve more Title I dollars. The majority of which would have stayed at Fulton.By resident
November 14, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this
Less kids enrolled in city schools!!! Four Policeofficers in the High school, two Policeofficers in Middle Schools and two working the city bus terminal. It seems like alot of money is being waisted because kids are acting up. The money could go to the schools for learning instead of hiring offiecrs. CORRECT YOU KIDS PEOPLE….