The Lansing School District may close either Eastern or Sexton
Because of serious revenue loss and declining enrollments, the Lansing School District is considering closing one of Lansing's three remaining high schools.
Decline of property values, brought about by the burst of the housing bubble, decreased local revenue. State Aid to local school districts was also cut this year with only the hint that there won't be more cuts in the next fiscal year. Michigan Schools of Choice law may also have reduced enrollments and state aid for Lansing schools.
Following is a copy of the Lansing State Journal's story about the possible closing of either Eastern or Sexton High School.
We've copied the story here because the Journal doesn't keep stories on its website indefinitely.
Sexton, Eastern: Which will close?
Students, alums, parents anxiously await decision on high school closing
11:21 PM, Jan. 28, 2012
Bill Morris loves Sexton High School - so much that the 1985 graduate is leading an effort to convince the Lansing school board to keep the 1942 building open.
August Stover loves Eastern High School - so much that the 15-year-old sophomore has repeatedly addressed the school board on how important the 84-year-old building is to her.
On Tuesday, the school board will meet to hear an administration proposal on two issues:
• Whether a high school should close, as a community task force report recommended in December.
• Whether that school should be Eastern or Sexton, and how soon that building should be closed.
"We need to recognize that closing a facility is a very emotional thing, and we need to just be open to acknowledge that," said Shirley Rodgers, past board president and co-chair of the restructuring task force.
"But we need to make decisions that fit within the resources of the district."
It's not just about money, said Brian Ralph, chief operations officer for the school district, which has seen its student population decrease from nearly 18,000, 10 years ago, to just over 13,000 now.
"The fact is, at some point we are going to have to bite the bullet," said Ralph.
"All three of our high schools are in danger because they're not performing academically. The focus has to be shifted to massive reform and restructuring at the secondary level so you can improve your achievement."
Ralph declined to share his recommendations to the board, but he did share details of a report comparing all three of the district's high schools.
In Sunday's Journal (01/29/2012) Louis Hekhuis, chairman of the Eastern High Alumni Association, wrote a thoughtful article emphasizing that the school board has other options to close budget holes.
Louis Hekhuis
is chairman of the Lansing Eastern High School Alumni Association.
Eastern: Board should revisit its other options
11:20 PM, Jan. 28, 2012
Currently, the Lansing Board of Education is confronting the challenges of recruiting a new superintendent and dealing with a potential multi-million-dollar deficit for next year.
Yet the board has chosen to add to that overflowing plate by announcing its intention to decide soon whether to close either Eastern or Sexton high school next year without significant student, parent or community involvement.
In its December report, the facilities subcommittee of the board's restructuring committee did not recommend closing any of the city's three high schools.
Instead, that group advised the board to close low enrollment elementary schools and transfer students to nearby elementaries or move the students to one or more under-utilized middle schools to create K-8 facilities.
According to the district's recently retired finance officer, closing a high school could save slightly in excess of $1 million per year by eliminating salaries and fringe benefits for the administrators, secretaries and custodians no longer needed and by cutting utility and maintenance costs.
If the board's major goal is to reduce expenses, closing five or six elementary buildings could reap annual savings of $1.8 million to $2.2 million ($375,000 per school).
The board also needs to consider the potentially negative impact that closing a high school could have on its future enrollment and state aid revenues. If just 100 students from the closed high school transfer to a neighboring public school under "schools of choice," the district could lose close to $700,000 in state aid based on the current allotment of almost $7,000 per pupil.
There are many other issues the board should be discussing with the community before acting to close a high school. What types of programs would be offered in a merged school with more than 2,100 students that would help reduce the high dropout rate or improve test scores? How will the administrators, athletic coaches and co-curricular directors be selected for the "new" school? Will current juniors in the closed school be allowed to receive a diploma with their former building's name?
I could recite a litany of valid reasons as to why Eastern should remain open. I suspect our west side counterparts could produce similar points to retain Sexton. But all that would accomplish is to pit one school against another and create divisiveness at a time when the Lansing School District seems to be in a perpetual state of educational and financial crises. All stakeholders (the board, parents, students and community members) need to be focusing attention on creating an efficient physical plant that can offer the best education programs for our 13,500 students in this era of declining financial resources.
Therefore, I would encourage the nine board members to revisit the closing/consolidation options in the restructuring committee's report and to solicit community input before taking final action to close a high school.
Following is a comparson of Lansing's high schools
Eastern High School
Built: 1928
Size: 237,069 sq ft
Cost of long term repairs and improvements: $ 19.9 million
Cost of most critical improvements: $7.3 million
Estimated cost of utilities: $286,864
Building capacity as presently configured: 1,482 students
Percent current usage: 80.6%
Total Current Enrollment: 1,195 students
Students who walk to school: 33%
Ethnic Breakdown:
African-American: 38.6%
Caucasian: 33.7%
Hispanic: 18.2%
Asian: 5.9%
Multi-racial: 1.9%
Native American and Hawaiian: 1.8%
Academic Theme: A Magnet school designated as an International Baccalaureate School. Students can choose to earn a certified diploma, a challenging program oriented toward global studies and developing critical thinking skills. Many students not on an IB diploma path take IB classes
Miscellaneous:
Diversity:
Because services for refugee families who resettle in Lansing are concentrated on the east side, Eastern kids hail from all over the world and speak dozens of languages.
Sports Facilities: Don Johnson Fieldhouse contains a gym that seats 4,000 spectators and a pool. The pool is small and requires $100,000 in ventilation repairs; Eastern’s swimmers compete at the Hill Center pool. No football field.
Notable grads: Olympic Gold Medalist Kevin Jackson, NHL players Kevin, Kelly and Kip Miller. NBA players Jay and Sam Vincent
Sexton High School
Built: 1942
Size: 245,675 sq ft
Cost of long term repairs and improvements: $ 18.7 million
Cost of most critical improvements: $6.6 million
Estimated cost of utilities: $290,857
Building capacity as presently configured: 1,535 students
Percent current usage: 51.1%
Total Current Enrollment: 785 students
Students who walk to school: 22%
Ethnic Breakdown:
African-American: 61%
Caucasian: 19.1%
Hispanic: 10.6%
Asian: 6.9%
Multi-racial: 1.6%
Native American: 0.8%
Academic Theme: Science, technology, engineering and math program offered to kids in K through 8th grades at the K-8 Stem Academy (formerly Dwight Rich Middle School)
Miscellaneous:
Sports Facilities: Edward Majdeski Football Stadium
Notable grad: Texas banking and real estate mogul Andrew Beal
Everett High School
Built: 1958
Size: 304,200 sq ft
Cost of long term repairs and improvements: $ 17.7 million
Cost of most critical improvements: $6.7 million
Estimated cost of utilities: $345,106
Building capacity as presently configured: 1,901 students
Percent current usage: 73%
Total Current Enrollment: 1,387 students
Students who walk to school: 26%
Ethnic Breakdown:
African-American: 44.4%
Caucasian: 24.71%
Hispanic: 16.9%
Asian: 10.2%
Multi-racial: 3.4%
Native American: 0.3%
Academic Theme: Focus on visual and performing arts K-8 students get at Pleasant View magnet school
Miscellaneous:
Sports Facilities: Has football stadium, gym and pool
Notable grad: Earvin Johnson, NBA player and business man
