Board weighs Pershing Elementary closure
Oct. 23—The Board of Education is being asked to consider the closure of Pershing Elementary School effective for August 2024, among several other changes as part of a student assignment boundary redesign.
If the board approves a plan of this kind, possibly by the end of December, it would affect many of the district's elementary students. Pending approval of a final plan, those who are currently kindergartners at Pershing, as well as the first, second, third, and fourth graders, would be re-assigned to another school when they start their 2024-2025 year. Those who are currently fifth graders will advance to middle school by the time any plan takes effect.
Board Vice President Kenneth Reeder endorsed the plan as a concept. The board must act now, he said, to get students permanently re-organized into fewer schools that are more equitably balanced.
"We're gonna rip the Band-Aid off," he said. "We're gonna stop having this scab that's been festered over for years and years, and then they kick the can. (Superintendent) Gabe (Edgar) is the person. We're gonna rip off the Band-Aid, we're gonna make some decisions, right or wrong, we're gonna make some decisions, finally. And I think the community, as a whole, wants to see decisions made, not the can kicked. Especially on this issue. The sooner the better."
A number of draft proposals have been heard as to where Pershing students would go, and how they would be distributed. Until the board takes up the matter for a vote, those plans are subject to change during the next two months. The district began talking about a change of status at what was then Mark Twain Elementary in January. They committed in the subsequent spring to a summertime changeover. Mark Twain now operates as the second St. Joseph Early Learning Center, besides Lake Contrary.
Edgar said it is his intention to have a vote on this by the end of December. No matter what decisions are made and when, Edgar said, the process "will be ugly," because some local residents' reactions will be negative. Edgar further ruled out waiting until the April election of up to three new school board members; unless the board forces him to wait, all of this will be decided as soon as possible, he said.
"I still think it can be done before the end of the year, because the facts that are provided, if you look at true feeder systems and you look at fixing boundaries, we have provided that," Edgar said. "All of that data is right there. All's they (the school board) have to do is make a decision on it. Now, are people going to be excited about some of the feeder patterns? Probably not. And so the pressure the board is going to receive is going to entail how long it's going to take."
The end objective would be to establish a 12-elementary-school feeder pattern where, by one possible model, up to four elementary schools each feed into a single middle school, with that single middle school then supporting one of the high schools. Board members have previously contemplated the closure of either Bode Middle School or Truman Middle School.
That final decision would occur as part of these same changes. Feeder patterns are the national norm of school organization, as they confer various advantages, including efficient use of staff and keeping students together, from their kindergarten class all the way through high school graduation.
The district has a need for additional space for its various forms of early childhood learning, the Board of Education heard Monday. A more pressing need is present in that the district has a critical shortage for its roughly 1,300 students who are in need of special education. By consolidating schools where possible, fewer staffers could help more students.
Having exhausted all options known to them with their own resources, district leaders said, they are expanding services with Specialized Education of Missouri, Inc., in order to recruit, hire and operate enough staff to meet critical needs, particularly at Oak Grove Elementary. Some 14 paraeducator and two special education teacher job vacancies persist at Oak Grove. The firm will charge $637,227 to provide for one classroom's needs starting in January 2024 and continuing through May 2025.
Reeder, in his capacity as a board member serving a three-year term from 2021, is up for reelection on April 2, 2024. Both he and Board President LaTonya Williams intend, as of Tuesday, to run for re-election. Past Board President David Foster will depart from the board, leaving three seats in total available. Filings for both incumbents and challengers, to the extent they may exist, will open in December via the Administration Building, 1415 N. 26th St.
Marcus Clem can be reached at marcus.clem@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowClem
