‘It’s not a fun experience’ for school boards considering school closures

As a public hearing looms on the proposed closure of Stewart Elementary School in Lower Burrell, experts say school boards should consider many factors before closing a building.

Even though school closures can be difficult, district leaders shouldn’t delay or avoid the problem, said Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy.

Even hypothetical alternatives — like tax increases or program cuts — to keeping a school open are undesirable, she said. If schools remain open, public resources will be strained.

“It’s not a fun experience to close schools, so it’s not their first choice,” she said.

Burrell School District officials say they are considering Stewart’s closure due to declining enrollment in an aging building. An architect gave the school district a $17 million estimate to renovate the 94-year-old building.

A few school districts have closed their schools in recent years. The Highlands School District closed Fawn Elementary Center in 2019. The Franklin Regional School District in Murrysville is in the process of demolishing the old Heritage Elementary School. The Allegheny Valley School District closed Colfax Elementary School in 2018 and plans for the future of that building are still under discussion.

All were part of neighborhood reconfiguration plans.

Highlands still owns the Fawn property, district spokeswoman Jen Goldberg said.

“I don’t have a track record of the savings, but some of them were in utilities and personnel,” said Jan Zastawniak, Allegheny Valley spokesperson. “The district has benefited from limiting the number of transitions for students, cost savings, scheduling and staff collaboration (or) efforts across grade levels.”

Closing tendency

Nationally, there have been more school closures than openings over the past two years, Roza said. Common reasons for closures are declining enrollment and lack of funds, she said. What’s contributing to declining enrollment, Roza said, is declining birth rates and the number of students who left public school at the start of the pandemic and never returned.

“The country has seen a decline in the student population,” she said.

Another part of this nationwide trend is that some districts have used health aid funding to avoid a likely school closure.

Inflation also contributes to a school district’s financial woes, she said.

Roza recommends districts be transparent and communicate to families the reasons for school closures.

“In general, school closures are not well received,” she said. “So usually there’s a back and forth so people can figure that out.

“People need to understand what the trade-off is. …(Districts) should help the public understand the range of options.”

Complex decision

Mackenzie Christ, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, declined to comment on individual closures, but said closures and reconfiguration are “incredibly complex and difficult decisions” because they impact virtually every aspect of the district operations.

“School boards must consider many factors when considering the closure or reconfiguration of a school, including enrollment levels and trends, academic programs and courses offered, age and status of students. school buildings, transportation, personnel and finances,” Christ said. “A school board must weigh all of these considerations in addition to feedback from its students, staff, parents, constituents and taxpayers before making a decision. »