Closing some schools an idea worth pursuing

IN assessing Oklahoma City’s public schools, one school board member said recently that the buildings aren’t what make the education. Instead, “it’s the teacher in the classroom, it’s the resources they have.”

She’s spot on, although that viewpoint was hard to find in recent years when efforts were made to close some city schools. In those cases, criticism of the plan from the public and some board members resulted in those plans being scuttled in a hurry.

The parochial interests in keeping neighborhood schools open is easy to understand, and so in that regard, the blowback to former Superintendent Aurora Lora’s plans was expected. Few parents want to see their school closed and their child made to attend elsewhere.

Yet there isn’t much question Oklahoma City Public Schools will need to make those tough decisions. The district today is operating at just 60 percent of capacity. Meanwhile, it’s expected the district will have 1,000 fewer students next school year, and enrollment declines projected over the next two years are expected to result in $11 million less in state aid.

The board has hired a consulting firm to provide a physical assessment of the district’s 79 schools and a demographic study. That firm is expected to report to the board later this summer, with newly hired Superintendent Sean McDaniel making recommendations to the board next spring. Any changes would be considered for the 2019-2020 school year.

Scott Randall, the district’s chief operating officer, says the goal is to maximize resources. “At the end of the day, the resources don’t exist to say, ‘let’s keep everything in place,” Randall told The Oklahoman’s

Tim Willert.

Again, that is a proper approach. Yet we can’t help but recall how quickly Lora’s proposals were rejected after coming under harsh criticism.

In a move that would have saved $1.2 million in staff and utility costs, Lora proposed closing Edgemere, Gatewood, F.D. Moon, Green Pastures and Johnson elementaries, and turning a sixth school into a neighborhood middle school serving about 560 students. Four of the schools on Lora’s list serve 300 or fewer students. The closings also were designed to give students in the affected schools access to more services, an important point.

These changes never happened. Nor did a later plan to temporarily close North Highland Elementary, which faced issues with staffing and administration, and move its students to another school.

Many critics of these plans objected to the process, saying Lora communicated poorly or not at all with the board, parents and others. Lora acknowledged she could have handled the situations better. But even if she had they would have been tough sells, given the emotional ties patrons have for their schools.

District officials say closing some schools, expanding others and redrawing boundaries are all potential options to cut costs. They must follow through, because the status quo cannot continue. The district needs to be making the most efficient use of its resources; having 40 percent of its buildings going unused is the opposite of efficient, and a disservice to children and taxpayers.