Members of the Birmingham Board of Education and I spent a lot of time listening earlier this week.
We listened to parents and other citizens who attended community meetings held Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to get input and answer questions about a school closing and reconfiguration plan.
We heard parents' concerns about the plan, particularly about their children's safety in a proposed reconfiguration of Carver and Woodlawn high schools to become 7-12 schools. As a direct result of public input, we announced revisions to the proposal at a press conference this morning.
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Changes that I now am recommending the board are:
- Taking the 7-12 plan for Carver and Woodlawn off the table
- Making South Hampton Elementary School a K-8 school to accommodate students from Daniel Payne Middle School, which would still close
- Consolidating Lewis and Norwood elementary schools in the former Kirby Middle School building
- Keeping Putnam Middle School open
- Consolidating Hemphill and Jackson elementary schools at Hemphill instead of Jackson
Other recommendations that were made Feb. 26 would remain the same, including:
- Merging Councill Elementary School and Bush Middle School into a K-8 school at Bush.
- Closing Center Street Middle School consolidating it with Arrington Middle School.
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Consolidating Martha Gaskins Middle School with Smith and Ossie Ware Mitchell middle schools and moving North Roebuck Elementary School into the vacated Martha Gaskins building.
- Opening the new Oxmoor K-8 School as a K-5 for the 2013-2014 school year.
It is regrettable that school closures and consolidations are necessary. We understand that it is a difficult and often emotional issue for parents and communities when a school closes. However, we must meet our financial obligations and keep on mind our students.
We considered many different factors when deciding what closings and consolidations to recommend. We looked at enrollment projections, where our students live, the capacity and enrollment of schools and the condition of school buildings. Our goal was to accomplish the needed closures and consolidations with as little moving of students as possible.
We also kept focused on our main goal, which teaching and learning, and our determination to ensure that all schools in the system are of high quality and provide positive learning environments for students.
Sincerely,
Craig Witherspoon
Superintendent
Birmingham City Schools
