KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Olathe School District Superintendent Dr. Brent Yeager said lower enrollment numbers are expected, and that means more consolidation of school buildings in the area's largest school district.
The district currently has about 28,000 students and 5,000 staff members. There are 36 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and five high schools in the district.
The update came in a video with Dr. Yeager sent Wednesday to staff and families in the school district, according to the district's assistant director of communications.
In the video, he thanked district voters for their recent approval of a $389 million bond issue.
Among the projects the bond money will pay for are rebuilding Meadow Lane Elementary School, adding additional fencing and playground equipment at elementary schools, updating locker rooms and weight rooms in the middle schools, and targeted repairs to high school buildings.
But while those improvements are being made, the district is still dealing with a decline in student enrollment.
Yeager said in the video that the birth rate is way down, and combined with higher housing prices, it means fewer children in the schools.
The district's student population is expected to "land at 25,000," according to Yeager.
The drop in enrollment also means less state money, including the district taking $44 million from its general fund to pay for federally required special education programs.
"It has an impact on every student and staff member every day," Yeager said in the video.
The district plans to form a task force in the spring that will include a staff member and a parent from every school in the district, along with people chosen from the city and school district.
Their responsibility will be to evaluate all buildings and enrollment factors and come back with recommendations on how many elementary and middle schools the district needs to reduce.
Yeager stated in the video that the district does not expect to consolidate any of its five high schools.
A steering committee will be appointed to identify specific buildings to close.
The goal is to have a final report to the school board by early fall 2026.
It's hoped the board will vote on which buildings to close early next year so the district can begin work on new school boundaries.
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