5 elementary schools, 1 middle school set to close in Olathe next year

OLATHE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.

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Major changes are coming to the Olathe Public Schools District next year, as the board approved several school closures for the upcoming year.

It comes amid declining enrollment and growing financial needs.

In a unanimous vote Thursday night, the Olathe Board of Education decided to move forward with closing Indian Trail Middle School and the Black Bob, Walnut Grove, Heritage, Tomahawk and Scarborough elementary schools.

The decision came after a month of parents, teachers and students sharing their concerns. KSHB 41 News has been amplifying those voices as they called for more information on the district's reasoning for each school closure.

According to district leadership, the district has a great need for facility alignment and consolidation due to significantly lower enrollment and high maintenance costs for operating buildings. Some of the schools set to close were only operating around 50% capacity.

Rising costs and declining enrollment have put the district in a tough spot, making it a difficult few weeks as the district decided whether to close six schools and consolidate four more into two.

"Our needs are dire," board president Julie Steele said.

School discretionary budgets have gone down by 25%, special education spending has doubled since 2011 and services from transit to health insurance have spiked with inflation.

"Honestly, we can just no longer run and operate and afford the system that we're running today," a district staff member stated during Thursday's presentation.

Many parents KSHB 41 News has spoken with have questioned if the district could save more money, why these specific schools need to close and what happens next.

Fabian Rosales

"This is an economic problem and I'm concerned that this does not seem to be the best economic solution," Black Bob parent Heather Robinson said.

Many parents have even launched campaign efforts to save their school and call on the board to reconsider.

"Take a breath, extend our timeline," a parent said at Thursday night's meeting. "We need more time."

Ultimately, the board unanimously passed the district staff recommendations to close five elementary schools and one middle school, in addition to consolidating four elementary schools into two.

"The motion, this work is with a heavy heart," Dr. Stacey Yurkovich said.

Breaking the hearts of hundreds of families as the district works through the next steps.

Fabian Rosales

"It's just hard because now kids are going to have to travel further to go to school," Black Bob elementary school parent Amanda Miller said.

The district is expected to share more information about consolidation plans, boundary maps and transportation in the coming weeks.

Each impacted school will have a transition team and staff members will have a job elsewhere in the district.

A timeline and boundary map update is expected in November.

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