The Dorchester 02 Board of Trustees voted unanimously Dec. 8 to repurpose James H. Spann Elementary and redistrict its students after district leaders argued renovating Spann as a neighborhood elementary would cost about $9,000,000.

Superintendent Doherty told trustees the repurposing plan would convert Spann into a district services center to house food service, information technology staff, special-education programs, adult education, a planned elementary alternative program and future day-care space envisioned in a partnership with the YMCA. Doherty said the building is one of the district’s smallest neighborhood schools and that flooding concerns and capacity make renovation a costly option.

Under the plan presented to the board, roughly 250 students assigned to Spann will be sent to Summerville Elementary once an 18-classroom addition there is completed (projected August 2026). Another approximately 202 students would be redistricted to Eugene Sires Elementary, together moving about 452 students off Spann’s rolls. District slides cited Spann’s current occupancy at about 60% of its 528-student capacity; Summerville Elementary sits at roughly 73% (pre-addition) and Sires at about 73% before the redistricting.

Doherty said the district has met with Spann staff and families, ran multiple communications (texts, app notifications and emails), and held community meetings between late October and late November; he described individual teacher meetings and follow-up planning for student transitions, including open houses and field trips to ease the move. The district said LEAP services and GATE placements will continue to be available to impacted families, and that special-education supports will be maintained as students move to new campuses.

Board members framed the vote as a difficult but thoroughly considered choice. Mr. Farnsworth, who moved the motion, thanked staff for the months of planning; others praised the communication effort and emphasized minimizing disruption for students. The motion to repurpose Spann and redistrict students carried 7-0 (motion moved by Mr. Farnsworth; seconded by Mr. Guthrie).

The repurposing is tied to other projects in the district’s facilities plan: Summerville Elementary’s classroom additions are expected to finish in August 2026, and an Orangeburg Road project that affects Knightsville Elementary is scheduled for 2029, which the district said accelerated planning for adult-education relocation and other space needs.

The board did not adopt a renovation budget for Spann; rather, it approved the repurposing and the accompanying redistricting plan as presented. Next steps identified by staff include targeted family outreach, staffing adjustments at receiving schools and scheduling transition events.

The board approved the repurposing motion in open session on Dec. 8.