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School board weighs campus consolidation as enrollment falls
Summary
The board reviewed four reconfiguration options — keep four buildings, move to three campuses, consolidate to two campuses or centralize on one campus — and asked consultants for to-scale plans and clearer cost estimates before deciding whether to pursue a bond. Staff warned enrollment declines will reduce state aid and asked the board to consider phased approaches.
Board members spent the meeting discussing whether to repurpose or consolidate district buildings as enrollment declines. An agency official who led the presentation emphasized that no decisions had been made and described four rough options: maintain four attendance centers, repurpose to three campuses, consolidate to two campuses (typically elementary / 6–12), or move to a single PK–12 campus. The official said the district has "a bond rolling off in 2028," and urged the trustees to look at both educational continuity and fiscal feasibility before choosing a path.
Finance staff presented preliminary projections tying declining enrollment to revenue loss and outlined annual operational costs for buildings and salary-only teacher payrolls. Finance staff provided salary-only totals on the presentation: "pre-K through 5 is about 3,000,000; 6 through 12 is about 3.4" (salary-only figures), and noted these totals exclude benefits, central office and transportation. Trustees asked HTK and staff for to-scale drawings, clarified site needs (parking, gyms, locker rooms) and requested phased cost scenarios to avoid repeated remodeling and transitions.
