Olathe school board to vote Thursday on plan to close 6 schools

OLATHE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of healthcare, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.

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The Olathe Board of Education is scheduled to vote Thursday night on a plan to close six schools by the end of next year.

Thursday night's agenda includes a presentation with facility alignment updates, a public comment period and then the board vote. The meeting starts at 5:45 p.m. at the USD 233 Education Center on 14160 S. Black Bob Road.

Olathe Public Schools' recommended closures include Indian Trail Middle School, and Black Bob, Heritage, Scarborough, Tomahawk and Walnut Grove elementary schools. This comes in addition to the previous decision to merge Central Elementary with Ridgeview Elementary and combine Northview Elementary with Fairview Elementary.

The closure recommendation came from the findings of a steering committee released in September. The district said factors like finances, enrollment data, class sizes and building age shaped the closure recommendation.

"We have fewer students, fewer teachers, but the same amount of physical space," Jim McMullen, Olathe Public Schools deputy superintendent, said.

Olathe Public Schools Superintendent Brent Yeager also addressed the gravity of the situation.

"We are in a place our district has never been before," Yeager said. "We are at a crossroad."

Parents and students at some of the impacted schools have united to share their concerns.

"As a very invested parent, all we're asking for is transparency and time," Tara Yantis, a Walnut Grove Elementary parent and PTO Executive Board member, said.

"We didn't have our voice in it at all, and now we feel like we're having to rush our voice into this," Jess Lyon, a Black Bob Elementary parent, said.

Not everyone is opposed to the plan. Jerri Sapp, a district grandparent, substitute teacher and volunteer, sees the closures as tough, but necessary.

"We do need to realize that this is for the good of the whole," Sapp said. "Let's create communities not tied to a building. Let's create communities tied to the people who are there and to the learning that needs to take place."

Families working to keep others informed have also come together to form Olathe Families United to petition and consider legal action if Thursday's vote passes.

"I think there's a lot of due diligence that could be done before making this vote. It's an irreversible decision that impacts over 2,000 students," Kelly Mazurek, an Olathe parent, said.

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