urbanSTL

SLPS announced more school closures to be coming in 2026, which I can’t even imagine how many more we could close. Then they say enrollment is down 5000 since 2017 which is just really concerning. Enrollment only at 16,500. That really shocked me. There are counties made up of small towns with that many students in their systems.

It’s hard for me to believe that a city with the economic output of St. Louis can’t fund schools for 16,500 students.

I’m childless but we have to do something about this.

SLPS has way fewer students/school than other school districts in our region. Closing schools is not a bad thing.

For example, Rockwood school district has 29 schools for nearly 19,000 students (~650 students/school) while SLPS has around 64 I believe which comes out to ~250.

delmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote: ↑

5:59 AM - Mar 10

SLPS announced more school closures to be coming in 2026, which I can’t even imagine how many more we could close. Then they say enrollment is down 5000 since 2017 which is just really concerning. Enrollment only at 16,500. That really shocked me. There are counties made up of small towns with that many students in their systems.

It’s hard for me to believe that a city with the economic output of St. Louis can’t fund schools for 16,500 students.

I’m childless but we have to do something about this.

There is bit of a disguise happening with those numbers, there is also 11,900 students in City charter schools 
Charter School Data

dbInSouthCity wrote:

delmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote: ↑

5:59 AM - Mar 10

SLPS announced more school closures to be coming in 2026, which I can’t even imagine how many more we could close. Then they say enrollment is down 5000 since 2017 which is just really concerning. Enrollment only at 16,500. That really shocked me. There are counties made up of small towns with that many students in their systems.

It’s hard for me to believe that a city with the economic output of St. Louis can’t fund schools for 16,500 students.

I’m childless but we have to do something about this.

There is bit of a disguise happening with those numbers, there is also 11,900 students in City charter schools 
Charter School Data

True. Although charter school enrollment has been basically flat over the last 5-7 years, so it’s not making up for the decline.

Auggie and I agree on something...

I don't think there is any magic to having a more than half empty school building in a neighborhood.  Also compared to Rockwood the SLPS schools are old and very expensive to maintain, and don't provide the modern facilities that suburban school districts offer.  I the large number of low enrollment schools also adds to the inefficient bus transportation system.  I see City school buses driving around in the morning with typically fewer than 10 kids on a huge bus.

TalkinDev wrote: ↑

9:17 PM - Mar 10

Auggie and I agree on something...

I don't think there is any magic to having a more than half empty school building in a neighborhood.  Also compared to Rockwood the SLPS schools are old and very expensive to maintain, and don't provide the modern facilities that suburban school districts offer.  I the large number of low enrollment schools also adds to the inefficient bus transportation system.  I see City school buses driving around in the morning with typically fewer than 10 kids on a huge bus.

All of this and more.

By closing schools, you have fewer to upkeep, you can sell them to get immediate cash to invest into the remaining schools, you save money on transportation by making it more efficient, fewer teachers are needed, fewer security and janitors are needed, etc.

My only hope would be that SLPS would have a thought out long term plan to implement a downsizing of their square footage instead of just slowly closing schools are they empty out. Doesn't seem like there's any plan in place right now.

There was a video that got a lot of popularity a couple years ago about Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana (sorta like St. Charles). It showed how great the school and and how many amenities it had and such. Got a ton of puchback from people who said it was racism because it's a better funded school district. But in reality, neighboring Indianapolis (IPS) had more spending/student than Carmel and 11 high schools for only slightly more high school students. Carmel only has the one high school.

So even without a plan, I think closing schools is a step in the right direction. Only real hiccup is selling them and getting them redeveloped which seems to happen slower than we'd want.

pattimagee wrote: ↑

4:05 PM - Mar 11

That is an interesting concept... if you had to start over from scratch, what would you do?  

I would build large, 700-1,000 student schools along major arterials, they would be top notch with all the modern amenities you'd want. I'd want 20-25 schools in total (elementary, middle, and high).

Hip hip…

St. Louis Public Schools president loses reelection bid to three newcomers

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... 15905.html

^Best luck to Marston, Collins-Adams, and Foster. The three of them have some pretty different stories, but they sound like level headed folks with an interesting mix of fresh ideas and perspectives.