School building consolidations are being considered across Kansas this year. The Wichita and Garden City school districts are considering merging and closing some school buildings. One much smaller community, Healy, plans to dissolve its district altogether. The Garden City Public Schools Board of Education met Thursday night to consider whether to approve a plan to close three elementary school buildings. Following our 6 p.m. broadcast, Garden City Public Schools announced that the board rejected the recommendation in a 4-3 vote. They are not the only ones who have thought of building consolidation this year. Across Kansas, Wichita Public School’s Board of Education voted to move forward with its facilities master plan, which would close four elementary schools. Experts at the Kansas State Department of Education say this year is comparable with past years. They say school districts consider closing buildings for many reasons, including population shifts across cities, declining school enrollment due to a lack of children in the area, and aging buildings that are no longer sustainable. Some districts are also shifting to move students from multiple smaller buildings to one big building for staffing efficiency.
Source: KSN-TV
