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Baltimore City Schools outlines formal closure and charter renewal process, cites funding shortfalls
Summary
City Schools told a council committee that school‑closure recommendations follow board policy and state rules, include public hearings and transition supports, and are driven by academic, utilization and facility factors; the district highlighted a multi‑year facilities funding gap and said it extends post‑vote transition support.
Baltimore City Public Schools officials gave the City Council’s Education, Youth and Older Adults Committee a detailed walk‑through of how the district recommends school closures and handles charter renewals.
Angela Alvarez, senior executive director for the Office of New Initiatives, said the district follows state regulation and Board policies (including board policy FCA/FCA‑RA for traditional schools and IHBJ/IHBJ‑RA for charter renewals). For traditional schools the process begins with board briefings and public announcements in November, school‑based meetings and steering committees, two board hearings devoted to public comment, and then a public board vote followed by a final report and notice about appeals roughly 30 days later. Alvarez said the district posts reports and related letters on the City Schools website and uses newspapers, letters and phone calls to notify families.
Alvarez listed the primary factors that drive recommendations: academic performance and the ability to deliver programming; climate indicators such as suspensions and chronic…
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