Five schools would close and remain empty and many programs would be merged amid sweeping changes being proposed for St. Paul Public Schools.
School board members were briefed Monday on recommendations that take into account declining enrollment and a desire to ensure all students have access to a "well-rounded education" — most significantly, officials say, specialist teachers in areas like art, music and science.
The Envision SPPS plan, if approved by the board in November, would leave vacant four elementary sites — Highwood Hills, John A. Johnson, Jackson and Wellstone — plus LEAP High School. But there are many other changes, too, and when taken together they could affect 2,949 students, many of whom would find themselves in different buildings.
"There is an impact in every area of the city," said Jackie Turner, the district's chief operations officer.
Care was taken to avoid creating inequities, such as higher concentrations of poor students at specific schools, Turner said Monday.
But the shuttering of buildings and stripping away of classroom life from other sites challenges the district's previous intentions of making its schools the heart of their respective communities.
St. Paul, like many other public school systems, has been hurt by declining birthrates and a rise in school choice options.
In a report last week, board members learned that 16,058 of the city's school-aged children attended charter schools or used open enrollment to go to other districts in 2019-20. A result was too many schools with too few students to bring in the per-pupil funding needed to hire specialists, district leaders say.
