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Vancouver staff recommend starting formal closure process for Lewis & Clark High School (Flex Academy) amid budget strain
Summary
Staff recommended the board begin the formal school‑closure process for Lewis & Clark High School (operating as Flex Academy), citing very low enrollment, per‑student costs about 50% higher than other schools, exhausted fund balance and a projected transition savings of about $850,000; staff said a March 10 presentation and an April public hearing are planned.
District staff recommended the Vancouver School District Board begin a formal closure process for Lewis & Clark High School as operated under Flex Academy and outlined alternatives and next steps.
Interim Superintendent Brett Blechschmidt summarized a linked report and said the recommendation follows board policy for school closures. He told the committee the high school is very small, that roughly 10% of current enrollment attends from outside district boundaries, and that Flex’s operating model consumes “about 50% more per student resources” than other schools. Blechschmidt said the district has drawn down reserves to sustain programs and that "we've consumed roughly $37,000,000 of fund balance" to maintain services. Staff estimated the proposed transition would save about $850,000.
Blechschmidt framed the recommendation as the start of a formal process: the board will provide a public hearing required by board policy, and the item will be on the March 10 meeting agenda for further presentation. He said staff see opportunities to expand other alternative‑learning programs — STAR, Success Academy and competency‑based Open Doors — and to repurpose facility and staffing resources if the board moves forward.
Directors pressed staff on whether per‑pupil figures included special‑education costs. Blechschmidt said the figures were taken from the OSPI report card coding for those school locations and therefore include special‑education expenditures; staff added that comprehensives also host more cost‑intensive, self‑contained special‑education programs, which complicates per‑student comparisons. Directors and advisory members emphasized the program’s effectiveness for some students and urged careful attention to student and family transition supports if a closure proceeded.
No vote occurred; staff will present summary slides at the March 10 board meeting and a public hearing is targeted for April as part of the sequence required under board policy.
