PACIFIC 鈥 Two elementary schools in Franklin County could close as early as this fall as the district grapples with declining enrollment and aging facilities.
The schools, Truman and Robertsville, need millions of dollars of repairs, say Meramec Valley R-III School District administrators. And 10 years of steadily declining enrollment has left the buildings underused.
One of several options under consideration is to merge the schools with the other three elementary schools in the district. None of the school board鈥檚 seven members responded to questions Tuesday, but a discussion of the district鈥檚 master plan was on the agenda for its meeting on Wednesday night.
The district reflects the myriad problems that public and rural schools have endured in recent years. Some students transferred to private schools during the pandemic and never came back. Nationwide, the number of school-age children has steadily dropped as birth rates continue to fall.
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Some Meramec Valley parents said Tuesday they were concerned with the district鈥檚 response.
Kesha Nichols鈥檚 child, a kindergartener at Robertsville, would be moved to Nike Elementary. Nichols said her family lives in one of the most rural corners of the district and a transfer to Nike would double the mileage of her child鈥檚 commute to school.
Nichols also has concerns about Nike鈥檚 capacity for additional students.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e talking about filling it to 95% capacity, and I just question if the overall infrastructure of the building was truly intended to sit that many students,鈥 Nichols said.
Haley Kibbons, whose daughter is a second grader at Robertsville, worried her daughter鈥檚 sense of belonging would change.
鈥淚 just want my kind in a school where I know what鈥檚 going on and she feels safe because school鈥檚 scary nowadays,鈥 Kibbons said.
The school board鈥檚 decision comes as enrollment in the Meramec Valley R-III School District has decreased by nearly 9% over the past 10 years. And enrollment is projected to fall even more 鈥 a demographic study completed last March projected that overall enrollment could decline another 2% to 10% over the next 10 years.
Another option for the district is to change nothing at all. One of the potential options includes keeping both schools open and risking further decline. Or only one school would close, earning the district a smaller sliver of savings.
If both schools were to consolidate, the district would stand to gain more than $700,000 in savings per year. Closing one school would save the district $400,000.
鈥淭his financial prudence not only addresses immediate operational budgetary concerns, but also positions the district to positively navigate potential facility upgrades, improved student programming and staff retention,鈥 Ketina Armstrong, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, said in a statement.
Nichols recognized the difficult decision ahead and acknowledged the district was 鈥渋n need of solutions.鈥
鈥淣obody is looking to close elementary schools because they have a desire to do so,鈥 Nichols said.
For the sake of her family 鈥 and the district 鈥 Kibbons hoped more than just the most fiscally prudent decision would be made.
鈥淚鈥檝e never thought I鈥檇 look into private school or home schooling, but, depending on what happens, there鈥檚 a lot of people I鈥檝e talked to that are considering those options,鈥 Kibbons said.