A proposal set to go before the St. Louis (Missouri) school board calls for shuttering more than half of the district's schools as enrollment continues to drop.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the facilities plan would close 37 schools in 2026 and keep 31 open.
If the board adopts the proposal, more than half of the city's neighborhoods would be without a public school, and the city would have more charter schools than traditional public schools.
Last year, there were 18,122 students scattered across more than 60 schools in the St. Louis district, which has one of the lowest average building capacity rates in the country.
With too few students in too many buildings, educators struggle to find enough certified teachers, counselors, social workers, bus drivers and coaches. Students miss out on foreign language instruction, advanced courses, sports and extracurricular activities. Many city schools lack the volunteers to form a parent-teacher organization.
The city's population could drop below 266,000 over the next 10 years, pulling school enrollment even lower, according to the report from architectural firm Cordogan, Clark and Associates. The firm's analysis estimates district enrollment will fall to 12,700 by 2035. The school system enrolled as many as 115,000 students in the 1960s.
The district is projected to lose between 800 and 2,000 students just this summer, mostly because of displacement from a May 16 tornado. Seven schools in its path will not reopen this fall, and their long-term future is in doubt after suffering at least $14.5 million in damages.
