St. Charles District 303 prepares to choose schools to close

St. Charles Unit District 303 will likely have fewer schools come the 2016-17 school year. Now the district administration will begin the process of figuring out which schools are on the chopping block.

Incoming classes of students shrank by about 300 students in recent years, according to a report given to school board members Monday night. If that's the new norm, Superintendent Don Schlomann said, the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars involves closing schools and redrawing attendance boundaries.

The district staff will have a report by August that shows whether the lower enrollment is a trend to expect for the foreseeable future. Assuming that's the case, school board members directed Schlomann to begin the process of determining which schools to close or repurpose to save money.

The district can save about $1 million per year for each elementary school closed and about $2 million for each middle school closed. The vast majority of those savings comes in the reduction in teachers, librarians, nurses and principals needed to staff those buildings. Those savings would come at just the right time, Schlomann said.

"You're going to get less money from the state," Schlomann said. "I don't think that's any news flash. It's just how we as an organization are going to deal with that."

The looks on veteran school board members' faces showed clear recognition that the task of closing schools and redrawing boundaries will be difficult and unpopular. But board members said they want a superintendent with true knowledge of the district to guide them through the process.

Schlomann is set to retire in two years. He is tasked with completing the decision making process and beginning implementation before he leaves.

Schlomann promised the process will include public and board input, but the process will not follow what previous boards have done in past boundary changes.

"It's not the board's job to do boundaries, nor is it the community's," Schlomann said. "The board did that last time. We're not going back there. It's the administration's job to give options on boundaries. It's the board's job to vote up or down with some public input."

School board member Ed McNally said some public input is valuable. He said it was only because of public input last time that some egregious boundary changes were scuttled.

"They are the ones footing the bill," McNally said. "They should be involved in the discussion."

Some version of the District 303 Summit will be reborn to bring the plans to the community before the 2016-17 school year.

"Closing facilities, having done it in my career, is not a pleasant experience," Schlomann said. "Somebody's ox is going to get gored. You're not going to be happy people when you close facilities."

Closing: Superintendent would complete process before retiring