St. Louis Public Schools could close more than half of its buildings prior to the 2026-27 school year, according to a new proposal set to be presented to the Board of Education on Tuesday.
A presentation from architecture firm Cordogan, Clark & Associates suggests shuttering 37 of the district's 68 schools, citing declining student enrollment and costly repairs to the many aging buildings.
The firm estimates it would cost more than $1.8 billion to repair and maintain the schools — an amount that is projected to grow since the May 16 tornado damaged a dozen schools. Seven of them will not open in time for the start of the school year on Aug 18.
The district is projected to lose about 30% of its student population due to migration trends and decreased childbirth over the next decade.
The proposal will be presented during a public work meeting on Tuesday by Superintendent Millicent Borishade and representatives of the firm to the Board of Education.
As a part of the “Reimaging SLPS” initiative, the district has been holding information sessions around the firm’s preliminary findings on demographic trends in the city and region over the past couple of months.
SLPS tapped Cordogan Clark to conduct a utilization and demographic survey of the district last year.
The survey found that the majority of the schools, which were once designed for a district population of over 100,000 children, have a utilization rate of 52%.
The study also notes that the average age of a building in SLPS is about 79 years old.
Borishade has said in previous public meetings that she has not made any final decisions about which schools the district may permanently close. Any decision from the district would require approval from the school board.
SLPS has the most schools in the greater St. Louis region and last closed schools in 2021.
The majority of the suggested closures are among the 42 elementary schools the district currently operates. The proposal would bring that number down to 15, eliminating many neighborhood schools.
The plan also suggests closing five of the 11 middle schools but does not propose closing any high schools.
