Three schools could be closed if the revised Kansas City Public Schools master plan is approved:
- Crispus Attucks Elementary at 24th and Prospect
- Satchel Paige Elementary off 75th and Indiana Avenue
- Southwest Early College Campus near 65th and Wornall
People in the community weighed in over a period of three months from November 2015 to February 2016 and are highly disappointed with the possible closure and relocation of Wendell Phillips Elementary, one of the highest performing schools in the district.
KCPS Interim Superintendent Al Tunis said, "Nobody wants to go through the process of closing a school and so it's difficult." With declining enrollment and the cost of maintaining multiple campuses though, the step could be necessary.
Wendell Phillips would relocate into the Crispus Attucks building, noting that 64 percent of the students would be from the accredited school. "Take all of the staff, the students, the administration, our community partners and ask them to provide that service in a different building," Tunis added.
Gene Timmons has been a volunteer at the elementary school for two years, though, and is concerned the transition may not be that smooth.
"They've become accredited, they've had high scores on the tests.To take that away is an injustice," Timmons said. "The wonderful education that these caring teachers are giving to this school, that's going to be lost."
Part of the concern with the relocation is that the process has been rocky in the past. Six years ago, KCPS merged Southwest and Westport High Schools and problems ensued from fights to allegations of rape on campus.
Tunis said, "One of the things that we've made a determination is to learn from mistakes that were made. We are looking back at what transitions were made between Westport and Southwest five, six years ago. We're also taking a look at best practices in other communities that have merged two schools together."
Timmons emphasized, "This would be a huge mistake for a school that has this level of momentum, this level of performance. It would be a disaster to close it."
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Dia Wall can be reached at dia.wall@kshb.com.
