St. Louis Public Schools to close 9 buildings next school year, as board takes long-awaited restructuring votes

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The St. Louis Public Schools board voted on a number of recommendations to restructure the district for the future, including closing nine schools after this school year, a move that would reduce the district from 61 schools to 52.

In all, of the eight recommendations voted on, four were passed, three failed and one was tabled.

The decision follows a process that began in June. The school board heard calls to delay the vote or to not close buildings slated for repurposing. Some board members sought a delay before the board voted on decisions to reshape the district.

The district will have a smaller footprint starting next school year.

The plan closes and repurposes nine schools next school year: AESM @ L’Ouverture, Ames, Ashland, Carver, Hamilton, Hickey, Meramec, Monroe and Walbridge.

St. Louis School Board President Dr. Karen Collins-Adams said, “Those schools that we do have on this list, several of them, not all of them, several of them do have an extremely low enrollment. When you only have an average daily attendance or your enrollment is about 92 students, and your average daily attendance is 60 percent, that says something else is going on in that community. Parents aren’t sending students to school; kids don’t want to go to the school.”

She added, “We have some other issues going on in our smaller schools that we need to be able to rectify by allowing our students that are in small schools and with a small pupil-teacher ratio, to be able to get the resources and engage with other students. That’s real important.”

The board also approved a plan ending magnet schools. The plan will restructure the format of a number of other schools to neighborhood schools except Focus Pathway Schools, beginning 2027–28. Grade level restructuring was also approved at select locations.

Clyde C. Miller would also start phasing out its high school starting next school year to become a career and tech education center, as that was also approved.

The board voted down closing Patrick Henry and Jefferson in the 2028-2029 school year, pending the completion of remodeling Dunbar Elementary.

The board also voted down a phase-out of McKinley High School starting next school year and in two years if enrollment surpassed 300 students. As of now, no changes will be made at the school.

The recommendation to restructure start times was tabled for a later date.

This is in response to the district facing declining enrollment, aging buildings and a budget deficit.

CeeJay Johnson, AFT Missouri president, said: “Listen to the parents, listen to the students, and make the changes necessary so that we all can thrive. Closing schools should never be the first option.”

Johnson said she and the union have visited many schools and met with parents who are still unaware or confused about what the district is planning.

McKinley students and parents have been among those pushing to keep the school’s doors open.

A McKinley student said: “As a student, this plan has been confusing. There have been changes that we don’t know about; we don’t know any of the information. We don’t know why our school is being chosen to be closed.”

A McKinley parent said: “We want good education, we want quality education, we want transparency. We went through a lot, and we can still continue to strive and stay within the public schools. Let our students graduate.”

Board member Dr. Robert Harvey said that now that the decisions are made, the district needs to communicate to families and the city about the impact on students’ education.

“We owe every family a clear, easy-to-understand, easy-to-follow, accessible way to know that their child is better off on the other side of this move,” Dr. Harvey said.

He added, “If we can not demonstrate that, then we have broken a massive promise to families that all of our children are going to be better because of this decision. That is what I have a very high expectation to see.”