The latest development:
MANSFIELD — The Mansfield City Schools board of education will vote Tuesday on a district reconfiguration plan that would include closing Prospect Elementary for the 2022-2023 school year.
The proposal is the third iteration of a district reconfiguration plan discussed by the board in the span of seven weeks.
Tuesday’s proposal plan also includes elements of the first two proposals, including:
Moving the Pre-K program from Springmill STEM Elementary to Sherman Elementary.
Moving third grade from Sherman, Woodland and Prospect to Malabar Intermediate.
Sherman and Woodland will be K-2 schools.
Supt. Stan Jefferson said the newest proposal came from discussions with board members and the district’s administrative team.
“The bottom line is Woodland and Prospect have to merge,” Jefferson said. “The question is where?
“The Woodland building is in better shape than the Prospect building.”
He pointed out the plan is similar to the original proposal in January. Benefits include the opportunity to expand Springmill STEM from a K-5 to K-6 school, increased capacity for the Pre-K program and cost savings to the district.
The original district reconfiguration plan proposed closing the Brinkerhoff building. That plan was proposed during a special meeting on Jan. 25. It was based on five months of planning and outside studies on enrollment, engineering and building capacity.
Jefferson said that plan wasn’t brought before the board for a vote due to logistical challenges and community feedback that occurred after the meeting.
Concerns regarding EdChoice vouchers also factored into the decision. Relocating the Spanish Immersion program into the Woodland building may have opened up additional EdChoice vouchers, allowing parents in the Woodland area to transfer students out of the district and take state funding with them.
Board members refused to vote on a second plan proposed Feb. 22, which did not include a building closure.
Jefferson and board members have stated the district needs to close some of its aging facilities in the face of declining enrollment.
“The fewer campuses we have, the more efficient we can be and the more unified (student) experiences can be,” he said. “At the end of the day, we should be putting money into curriculum and instruction and not putting that money into repairs.
“The cost of repairs are exorbitant now based on what COVID has done.”
