Board continues discussion on proposed Westwood closure, DSC relocation and Greenwood repurpose; no final vote

District leaders presented the board with a multi-part proposal to close Westwood Elementary, relocate Lola del Lago to Westwood, move Greenwood programs and the District Services Center (DSC) to alternate space, and explore repurposing Greenwood as a combined district-services and program hub.

Doctor Thomas (Executive Director for Facilities) opened the review of revised slides and a facility transition matrix that compared scenarios for closing Westwood, moving Lowell and relocating the DSC. "When we take a look at Westwood and then move the DSC to Westwood, we could create building efficiencies," Thomas said, and the presentation concluded that moving Lowell and the DSC to other campuses would better meet the board’s prioritized criteria: operational efficiency, minimized remodeling, support for program growth and potential additional revenue.

Executive Director Emily Herman summarized instructional-space capacity calculations used to model the effects of closing one or two elementary schools. She said the district counted actual instructional classroom spaces (excluding hallways and bathrooms) and estimated that closing two elementary schools would push multiple grade levels above the district’s discussion cap for class size.

Herman and Doctor Dan Edwards addressed alternatives for housing the DSC. Herman said the DSC currently employs about 56 staff and occupies roughly 22,000 square feet, which includes roughly 1,500 square feet of hallways and 600 square feet of garage/storage space. She cautioned that distributing DSC staff across multiple sites would "be very inefficient in terms of our daily operations" and…