The Detroit school board has approved a $700 million facility plan to overhaul multiple buildings throughout the district.
Under the plan, the district would spend $281 million to rebuild five schools, $296 million to renovate buildings, and $128 million to reopen previously closed school buildings, expand pre-K, build additions onto existing schools, and demolish or sell some vacant buildings, reports Chalkbeat Detroit.
The major elements of the plan:
- Constructing new buildings on the sites of Cody High School and Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy.
- Reopening Paul Vetal Elementary, which closed in 2011, with an expanded pre-kindergarten program.
- Building additions at Charles Wright Academy, Communication and Media Arts High School, and John R. King Academy.
- Closing Ann Arbor Trail Magnet Elementary-Middle School and Thurgood Marshall Elementary School by phasing out enrollment over the next several years.
- Demolishing or selling active and closed school buildings, including Post Middle School, and Biddle and Larned elementary schools.
The board vote also lifted the district’s moratorium on selling vacant properties. An earlier board decision halted any discussions related to former schools until the board approved a facility plan.
The approved plan has significant changes to the proposal that was presented in February, among them removal of a recommendation to phase out Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy, a K-8 school northwest of downtown.
Under the plan, construction and renovations will begin by fall 2022, and are expected to be completed by fall 2025.
