00115th, 2026 uh special board meeting to order. We have seven board members present. And I would entertain a motion to adopt the agenda. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Please cast your vote. Motion passes, 7-0. Okay, that brings us to our one item, public hearing for closure of Logan Avenue Elementary School. I kind of the process this evening, I will present information on on behalf of the district as to have a couple of legal obligations. One would be to ensure that I provide the rationale for the recommendation to close the school, and then two, to be sure that we clearly identify if the school were to be closed, where the students would be reassigned in the event that it were were to close. Um Beyond that, when I'm finished, then obviously we'll get
002into the to the public comment portion of that, but that's just kind of how how this evening will roll. And you and you certainly certainly are invited ask clarifying questions of me or to ask clarifying questions of a speaker along the way. You have those options as well. So, we'll just get into the reason we're here is to uh look at and you you you have my presentation, right? You can put that up there. Look at the potential closure of Logan Avenue Elementary School. And um just to start off with some of the decision-making rationale for for the school consolidation or this closure. Um one I wanted to I did want to point out that um this was a process that was a part of the cost containment team process. It wasn't something that um
003you know, we were considering separately. That team did also um look at at potential school consolidation and and uh all the all the subgroups within that within that team uh did reach consensus in their rooms to keep it on the list to continue to have the district to study that, and so that's what we've been doing uh since the since that team finished up its work. Of course, we have the fiscal health of the school district as a whole as a rationale. Um the fact that we're deficit spending, uh that we have declining revenues. Our state aid and our local option budget revenues are impacted by by those uh declining state revenues. And then um cost containment efforts will provide just greater sustainability financially across the district as a whole. And then additionally, the rationale
004for closing the school would be just overall declining enrollment, not just in the school, but across the district as a whole. And in particular, um the school has has uh the lowest enrollment in the district at this time. Again, kind of just starting with the process, uh we always like to thank the folks that were involved in helping us to to uh work our way through cost containment. It It's never been a It's never been an easy task. And uh these folks put in over 1,000 hours into the process, and so we always like to uh put them back up there and make sure that we thank them for the time that they put into it. We could not have uh you know, the board's already uh approved about three 3.2 million dollars worth of
005recommendations of feedback that involved feedback from this team to help to help with the the fiscal situation in the district and uh we appreciate the input that this group gave in the in that. That group as far as their evaluation criteria when they were looking at at ways to reduce our budget included the they they looked at everything with through the lenses of financial impact, you know, how much value, how much how much can you save bringing bringing the particular idea to the table, you know, how difficult is it to to implement, the feasibility of implementing it, stakeholder disruption, you know, the the risk to stakeholders, the emotions and all of that involved. Also looked at trying to absorb any any staff reductions in a way that we could avoid riffing or reduction in force
006and that we could place people in in positions that are vacated by others. And then they had they had the criteria to limit student impact as much as possible. How many students are going to be affected and one of one of their goals was to affect as few students as possible. Some of the factors affecting the district's financial health, one declining enrollment, enrollment decline has accelerated in the elementary levels. Um the enrollment decline has a direct impact on our revenues. You know, for every for every full-time equivalent student that that we run through our state aid formula, you get you get about $5,615 for them this year. And so you can imagine that uh you know, the decline we're looking at for next year in in the realm of 400 students is around a $2.4
007million loss in revenue for the next year. In addition to some of the things that are affecting our financial health, it's not all in our control, right? State legislature's failure to fund growing excess cost of special education services and then looming formula changes. Um Our district is taking about $1,000 of that $5,615 in base state aid. We're taking about $1,000 of that per student to pay for the excess special education costs that the state is not funding currently. They're supposed to be funding 92% of those excess costs. This year they're funding about 67% next year they'll fund about 64%. So there are there are multiple um there are multiple problems that create this situation for us, multiple factors that create it for us, some of which we have control over, some of which we do
008not. That one, the only way we can really control it is to continue to advocate for them to meet their obligation of that funding. Of course, the impact of closing businesses on both enrollment and assessed valuation in the district affects our financial health. Another another thing that we don't have a lot of control over as a school district. And then we have inefficiencies that result from the declining student population. As our enrollment and revenues decline, um we we just have to find ways to be more efficient and we can be more efficient if we have our students grouped in into fewer fewer schools. Um if you look at trying to to maximize your teachers in the sections and so on, it becomes less and less efficient the more spread out your students are, particularly when
009your your enrollment numbers get get to be low as low as they are in some of our situations here. Um so we have a need to consolidate student population and staffing in the fewer fewer schools. Um we've had almost a thousand fewer students um running through the formula over the course of the past decade from 10 years ago to today today and you know, around 600 actual physical K through 5 or K through 12 students, about 460 of them elementary over the period over that period of time. So we just we have fewer students requiring fewer classrooms. So why should we be concerned about our fiscal health? I've referenced that the district will lose 400 students off of its base state aid calculation next year as compared to the current year and that represents a
010$2.3 million coinciding base state aid loss. Our future enrollment projections in our state, it's estimated that student enrollment will continue to decline in the state of Kansas through the year of 2041. In Emporia, kindergarten enrollment is expected to fall short of graduating class enrollment for the foreseeable future. Um you know, we're seeing about 50 to 60 fewer students coming in each year than we graduate out. 50 students um constitutes about $300,000 per year in less in less state funding if you look at it that way. You know, if we if we continue at that pace, we're going to end up being a district of around 3,200 students, you know, 8 or 9 10 years down the road. We don't know what the future holds today, but that that's that's something that we we're we're projecting
011and trying to prepare for if it if it does happen. We are currently deficit spending. It's projected that currently this year we're we're going to expend approximately two $2 million more than we receive. And um at that rate, we would be out of end of year cash reserves in as little as four years. By the end of the 29-30 school year, we would have no reserves. Why are reserves important? Um you you're your revenues don't come consistently month to month to pay your bills. They come in chunks and pieces and you know, when you're waiting for your for all your tax revenue to come when people start to pay their tax bills, you have you have reserves to help you through through those lean times and so you need to start the school year off
012with with reserves in order to to not have to borrow money to meet your to meet your fiscal obligations. The the cost containment solutions that we've already approved are are helpful. It's a very important to a significant first step to have approved the three to $3.2 million. It was $3.2 million on our list. I hope that we reach $3.2 million you know, when it all starts to go into play, but I'm not going to stand here today and say I'm fully confident that all of those cuts are going to add up to $3.2 million cuz we were using a lot of averages and stuff, too. So could could vary a little bit. That's a good first step. But school consolidation is a part of the solution. Um with the loss of the 500 about 500
013elementary age students over the past decade, the district's now um operating more elementary schools than we need. Closing one of our elementary schools will result in an additional savings of approximately $1.4 million um and that would assist with our long-term financial stability. The alternative to that is is you have to go in and try to find those cuts somewhere else. Um begin to um dig deeper into staffing all around the district, potentially start to eliminate programs. Um Based on based on the data that we have in front of us today, this seems to be um the most fiscally um responsible way to go about it. Uh just a couple of line charts to give you a little just you know, some people like pictures better than numbers. Um this this actual revenue line, this black
014line that then turns to gray uh showing actual revenues uh with the gray being projected revenues. Those projected revenues have a 3% annual CPI growth in them. But we all know that uh by January, the legislature is supposed to provide a new formula that will then be considered in the next legislative session and we don't know what that will look like, whether it will include the three 3% CPI, whether it'll be, you know, freezing freezing funding for a while, we just don't know. Our history tells us that it's going to get worse before it gets better as the formula gets rewritten and we start to to have changes in the governor's office and so on. Um it's just been been kind of a trend in in our state that we're probably you know, if you
015listen to a lot of the folks around the state, we're probably within a year to a year and a half of having another lawsuit in our state over funding. And so um we're not including any of that in our projections. We're we're we're assuming we're going to continue to see the 3% CPI um as we have uh up to this point. Um you can see there where the red line the red line crosses the the gray line or the black line, that's kind of where we start to we're starting to spend more money than we have. And uh if you go to the next slide, then you can see kind of here's our here's our end end of year cash balances. And then you can see that they start to drop this year because because
016we're expending more than we're we're receiving. And the red line shows you what would occur without cost containment. And it again shows you that around that 29-30 school year, we would we would run out of cash balances to start to start the next school year with. So and then the green line kind of shows you with all of the cost containment ideas that some of which you've approved, part of which is the school consolidation, it begins to bring that that uh cash balance line back up and it's important to it's important to build some cash balances right now in these times of uncertainty. There are a lot of factors that influence have influenced our enrollment over time. We don't we don't control these job losses, you know, we're we're we're uh you know, we we
017haven't closed up shop and and left town, but some folks have. And you can see that every time that happens, it has a negative impact on our enrollment. And then you see the the pan and then and then there'll be rebounds at times and then you know, there have been it's just been a it's been a tough run for for Emporia as a community and particularly here recently. You know, we were rebounding out of the pandemic and then you begin to lose more businesses and see you know, this year this year just physical students, we were down 225 more students. Uh we had few 225 fewer students this year than last year. Um and then when you when you count waitings and and uh the adult ed piece, um we're that's where we show we're
018losing the the 400 here. It's 401 students for funding purposes. So, a lot of things going on in our community that that we don't have control over that are impacting the decisions that we have that we're having to consider. Uh just a few more ways of looking at enrollment. This is This is pre-K to adult enrollment. So, this includes like our pre-K students and then that 176 to 200 adult learner FTE that were that was in that that was um in our in our funding formula. And you can see here that we're we're we've declined almost 1,000 students for funding purposes, while we've declined about 600 students you know, just actual students. For funding purposes, we've we've actually declined about 1,000 full-time equivalent students when you look at waitings and and everything that goes into
019how they fund schools. That's about $5 million in lost funding to the school district. If you just look at K-5 enrollment, that's where you see the 466 students over the last 10 years. Um and again, that there was an accelerated drop in in K-5 enrollment because of of Tyson closing recently. So, just just a a few slides to kind of show the impact that what's happening with enrollment. And um you know, that all has an impact on the revenues that we receive, the the classrooms that we need to provide. Um it it all plays into into the recommendation. The next sheet uh is just kind of looking district-wide. A little bit hard to see up on the screen, but district-wide um this shows all of the schools and their enrollment. It also includes um those
020that live in the dist in in the actual uh enrollment area and then those that that uh are transferring in from other either outside the school district or in in another um enrollment area. And then the total number of students. Here I've kind of boxed in uh the school that we're talking about this evening, uh Logan Avenue Elementary. You can see that there are approximately 120 students that live in the attendance area of Logan Avenue. Um on 11/4/2025, there were 156 total students, about 36 that were transferred in. Um I double-checked enrollment back in March, and there were about 140 total students, so it's gone down a little bit over the course of the year. Um but there are there are currently fewer than 120 students actually living in this attendance area. Closing of the
021school would have would impact as as you know, pro- around 130 students because if you think about it, the fifth graders are going to be moving on that year on to middle school, and so they're not really impacted by the closing as far as having to go to another school. They they would transition on to to their middle school. So, again, uh lowering the number of students impacted by the decision. And then if you look at being able to absorb students in other schools, we project that we that um we may need to we may need two to three additional sections than are current at Riverside and maybe one additional section at William Allen White in order to absorb the enrollment of reassigned students if the school were to be closed. And then I show
022down there in the green that grand total, where it kind of gives you that indication of how our incoming classes as a whole are smaller than those that were graduating. Just uh on average, the financial impact of closing an elementary school, these are just the positions. Um you know, if you look at everything above the grade level sections, those are those are uh positions that are that you can find in all of our elementary schools. Um I put six grade level sections there because there are currently 10 sections um grade level sections in the school and making an assumption that we're going to need four of them elsewhere in the district, and so you wouldn't necessarily reduce all 10 of those positions. Um I I [snorts] will say that I'm comfortable that that uh you
023know, a year from now when we're pre- prepping for this if it were to be decided to close, um that we would we'd have we'd have classrooms to place all of those teachers in. We get a lot of turnover with regard to our to our classified staff, and so, you know, if you think if you kind of use this year as an example of the the reduction of positions that were that were creating as a result of your cost containment I um recommendations you've already approved, we're very very close to getting to the point where everyone has has a job. Um and and we feel like we feel like we're going to get there before the end of the year due to retirements and resignations. I think that we would see something similar occur um
024prior to the 2027-28 school year a year from now um if we were if we were in the same position. My other obligation, I said we have to clearly kind of identify where where the students would go if the school were to close. And so, that's what this and the next slide are trying to do. Uh we're we're proposing that students living north of South Avenue would attend William Allen White Elementary School. There at the time that uh Michelle pulled this for us in transportation, there were actually 19 students living in that area. And then um the students living south of South Avenue would attend Riverside Elementary. And again, there were about 89 students living in that in in that particular area that would that would go to uh to Riverside. The it's the the
025note out there to the to the left is important to note that um if if a if a student were at Logan on a transfer from another school, say say Timmerman or Walnut, we would revert them back to their school of origin, and then they could enter the transfer process again to go to a school that that would be open in the future. Um if you were to close this one. Um The question's come up with regard The question actually came up today. I don't have it anywhere in my slides, but here are my here are my initial thoughts about it is what if you what if you're transferred in and you're you're established in the school and and you're from you're from Opie or wherever. I think I think those students we need to
026try to find a place in one of our other schools for them, not So, I would So, I'm not saying we would revert those students back to their home school district. We would keep them in the school district and try to based on based on availability and uh of class of class seats, which you're going to talk about at your next board meeting, uh we would we would find a place for them. So, we don't want to kick people out of the school district as a result of closing the school. Just a close-up um of that. Um This This one just helped me to kind of get a visual on the fact that the you know, the three schools involved here are relatively close to one another. Um I know that's no no consolation to
027anyone who who, you know, doesn't want this to happen, but it it at least it at least helps me to know I'm not I'm not moving kids, you know, 7, 8, 9, 10 miles across town to to somewhere else. We're all within within within 1 and 1/2 miles. Um these schools are all within 1 and 1/2 miles of each other. We did hear some uh public comment with regard to transportation and some concerns about whether uh families in this in this area would be able to transport their their students, and I think some some of them will, and some of them will will want to walk with them, and so on. But uh we listened, and we heard all of that. And so, we would be recommending as a part of this uh to provide
028some transportation. You know, the state of Kansas requires and partially funds transportation for students that are at least 2 and 1/2 miles from their school. Fortunately, in our school district, we um we feel like that's too far, and we have um you know, the the board has been willing to fund transportation of students greater than 1 and 1/2 miles from school. So, actually transporting students that are that you you you could push that out to 2 and 1/2 miles. It's at 1 and 1/2 miles here. Um No matter how you look at this, most of these students are going to be within 1 and 1/2 miles of the school that they're reassigned to. So, based on number one and number two, they wouldn't receive transportation. But we you know, hear hearing the concerns about transportation,
029we've we've tried to we've tried to resolve it. And so, we can also consider high traffic areas, potential hazards, and decisions to transport students that live less than 1 and 1/2 miles from their school. And so, due to that um number four talks about the fact that due to the due to the highway 99, which becomes Commercial Street coming in from the south, and there's not really a a traffic control buffer until you hit South Avenue, we we've determined we would like to consider that as enough of a hazard, enough of a problem of kids walking to school cuz we can't trust that the kids are all going to choose the right place to cross the road, right? And so, we don't want any accidents to occur as a result of of that highway entering
030there from the south, and so, we would want to provide a transportation option to the students living um in the Logan attendance area that would in that in that they're south of South Avenue to Riverside. And then additionally, uh number five talks about uh the railroad tracks there to the north of that small section of Logan Avenue that would be going to William Allen White and we certainly wouldn't want students trying to cross those those tracks on their own and so we would propose a transportation option for them as well to go to William Allen White. You know, we're going to we we've been talking to Jasmine and Michelle about the most efficient ways. They've got lots of ideas on how to do that with with you know, as little cost as possible. I put
031here 0 to $50,000. I don't think that the cost to transport the students to these schools is going to reach $50,000, but I also don't want to put 0 to 10,000 and ends up being 25 and somebody will call me a liar, you know, so just want to be sure we're kind of covering our bases there. It won't be 0 and it won't be $50,000, but we certainly have buses that already run in this area that we potentially can can manage without adding, you know, two or three new routes to get it done. Then the future of the site if it's closed, just I think it's very important for everyone to know we're not recommending that the school district sell the school. Um we think that uh we don't think that that'd be prudent at
032this time. Um some of the conversations about Logan Avenue and the site in the future, you know, some folks have have latched on to well, we're closing the school because this building is in such shape and we need a place for this for these operations to go. That that that's never been a consideration as a reason to close the school. Now, it would it it wouldn't I wouldn't be doing my job if we close the school I don't begin to consider well, instead of spending a million dollars to get this building back up to safe structure and and the way it's supposed to be, would it make more sense to move these operations to a facility that we have that is in in condition and and you don't have to to make those repairs. And
033so shame on me if I don't at least consider those those options down the road, right? But it's not the reason for closing the school, but it could it could certainly be create create some opportunity for the district to make decisions down the road. Potential relocation of Flint Hills Learning Center. Again, we want to we want to keep this campus viable, you know, we want to keep it alive. And so you know, they're not elementary students, but they're students. Bringing students to the campus. We're currently paying almost $40,000 a year to have our Flint Hills Learning Center at the mall and we could we could we could relocate and and and then have that $39,000 to allocate toward something else. And so that's that's a potential option. Working with the community resource partners, you know,
034to house needed services, whether those would be, you know, social services, you know, social emotional, economic, recreational, just just getting into a dialogue with all the partners in the community that already provide some resources across the district and then and then maybe some new ones to again keep keep the campus vital, keep it keep it keep it purposeful for for the neighborhood. Um we want to maintain the play areas and retain the gym for community use for for for the district facility usage guidelines and procedures. You know, sometimes folks will go in and renovate a school and all of a sudden the gym isn't the gym anymore. This used to be a gym. It's not a gym anymore. I I would propose that we don't touch the gym in that school regardless of what we
035do with the school because our community needs that gym. We're already short on spaces across the community and in particular, you know, I I want to be sure that we have those facilities in continue to have them in that area of town for people to to be able to access and use. I have lots of visions and ideas that I talk about and don't really know how to get to get to them to become fruition, but I really really hope that we we start to talk more about innovation and creativity and how we do things today versus how we we could do them in the future to really spark interest in kids and make sure that kids are are learning, you know, lots of hands-on learning and so on and so I would love to
036explore the potential as an innovation hub where maybe you would have a small K through 2 pilot school or something where you're really trying some cool stuff with the families that want their kids to be a part of it. And so I think that's an opportunity in this in the in the space as well. And then we'll just continue to look for ways to utilize the space if it's available to serve the needs of the district, the community, particularly the neighborhood and just keep looking for options of use. Even to the point of I mean like I wouldn't want to get rid of the school because someday we might need the school for school. Um you know, if we're not doing much else in it regard that takes up space, there might be times when
037we have a problem infrastructure-wise in one of our other schools where it behooves us to get kids out of it for a month. We could have school here for a month in those kinds of situations, you know, so it gives us some flexibility and some opportunities that we don't have currently. I put the I put the old comprehensive um slide up there with all the cost containment, you know, what's in green over here is really kind of the phase three stuff that we're talking about that wouldn't be implemented until until 27-28. We're not talking about these things happening next year, but this will kind of give you a feel for you know, the district's had cost containment studies in the past. They might have looked a little differently than the process this time and and
038reduce some expenditures in the past. This year we actually found about $310,000 worth of of expenditures mostly in staffing that we could reduce just as the year was getting started or during the year. So we've been trying to take advantage of every opportunity we have to reduce expenditures. Um you see the long list of things that that you've already considered and approved at a previous meeting. And then again, you get over into the green, the phase the phase three stuff is what we're talking about this evening and I and I I put the Flint Hills Learning Center, the potential move of central office in there because those things become possible if if if we implement the closure of the school. So just just I'm just going to kind of summarize it and go through it
039real quick one more time. We're recommending to close Logan Elementary beginning with the 27-28 school year, not next year. Um Rationale for it, declining district-wide enrollment necessitates school consolidation to maintain the district's fiscal health. Logan Avenue has significantly low student enrollment leading to inefficiencies in use of resources and utilization. The closure will result in an annual savings of about 1.38 million crucial for addressing deficit spending. The nearby schools William Allen White and Riverside have have the room, have the capacity to absorb the students that would be reassigned. Consolidating those resources allows us for better allows for better educational programming sustainability across the rest of the district. And it supports the cost containment team's guiding principle of impacting as few students as possible. Again, as a part of the recommendation, we're recommending to for the reassigned
040students to go to William Allen White Elementary if they live north of South Avenue in the in the Logan attendance area and Riverside if they live south of South Avenue in the Logan attendance area. And again, the students that are attending it from another one of our schools will be assigned back to their school of residence. We're recommending transportation for all the students as I as I described earlier. I won't go through those specifics again. So in conclusion, the district finds that the closure of Logan Avenue Elementary Elementary The district finds that the closure of Logan Avenue Elementary effective for the 27-28 school year is a reasonable and necessary action to ensure that Emporia Public Schools remains a strong, stable and focused educational environment for all students through resource optimization and needed fiscal stability. It's
041not been an easy recommendation to come to, but you know, a part of my job is to identify problems and then provide potential solutions and that's kind of what we've been doing through all of this. Um you know, we identified a problem early on in my tenure. And it's been working, you know, I probably 75% of my time has been spent finding these solutions when I would much rather be doing fun things um like working with Cheryl and the principals and so on on on instructional stuff. But this is what this is what's needed to focus this year in order to to be sure that we get our finances right so that we can do all those other fun things down the road. I think that um we get ourselves positioned better financially and there
042will be better days ahead. We'll take any any questions you might have. Uh I just want to maybe clarify, you can correct me if I'm wrong, that so this year we're spending $2 million of our reserves. That's that's that's our projection. We won't know until the end of the year exactly how much of it we spent, but when we project our revenues and our expenditures, we're projecting about $2 million deficit. And so with the way school finances figured, we're actually using the numbers of last year to for this year's budget. Yes. So when we see in the media that there's been a 400 student drop, that hasn't impacted our budget yet. And that's when it's going to hit next year. And we could be potentially lose 2.4 million additional dollars. And so, if we kept
043things as they are, we would be looking at a 4 million dollar deficit or more next year. More than 4 million, yes. We We've set our We We set our target at the beginning of cost containment at around 4.5 million so that we could anticipate additional losses. Thank you. Um just to clarify, and I I think that sometimes this is tricky to understand. School finance is really complicated that when we're talking about cash reserves, we're not meaning just like extra fun money laying around. We're talking about how each of us have our own savings accounts that we keep on hand for emergencies, and school districts need to operate in the same way. So, it's not like we're just stockpiling cash, right? Even more so than emergencies, let's say if you were a 9-month employee for
044the school district and we paid you all of your salary over 9 months, and then you had to have money to to pay for things over the course of the other 3 months. Well, you're going to have to have cash reserves at the end of the 9 months. You have to manage your your money to the point that you can survive the 3 months. And that's a lot of what our cash reserves are about, too, is surviving those low months until our tax revenue receipts start to come in. I've heard from community members that um you know, we had a bond in 2018-2019, and we've invested a lot of money in Logan. So, um could you kind of explain the bond project and sort of how that worked and Logan wasn't the only school that
045was that we worked on over the over the past, you know, 5 years. So, could Can you I know you weren't here for most of the bond projects, so I am sorry if it's a trick question. I've talked to a few people. It's my understanding that um when when the bond was being discussed with the community, there was a promise made that uh there would be money spent for improvements in every um student student building, right? Not buildings like this, but all all of the schools. And so, every school across the district received some sort of project and a certain amount of those funds. I think Logan was one of the earliest schools uh in those in those uh projects. Um And I think it's important to point out, you know, they they all they
046all received They all received They all had projects. They all We We spent, you know, 3 or 4 million dollars in each school and so on. Um No one could predict the future at that time, either, right? That bond was passed just before COVID. Um you know, that bond was passed before we saw more job loss in the community. And so, there's there's no one at fault here. That money was spent in a building and now we're looking at potentially not needing it. Um but it wouldn't matter which building we were closing, you would have the same argument if you wanted to make that argument. Thank you. And I just have a quick follow-up. You know, in terms of the bond, um even though we have um finished the projects, we still have the bond.
047And so, are there any rules or anything that we need to be aware of that if we close a school, are there any penalties we would see because of closing a school? There aren't any There aren't any penalties for closing it because we're we're retaining it. We're keeping it. If we were trying to get rid of it, then there are some other statutes that come into play. Could you address staffing a little bit? Um I know we're If this would pass, it's a year out, yeah, but how we might handle staffing changes? I think we would handle it just like we have, you know, this year is um be patient and watch those resignations and retirements come in and try to reassign people. You know, so we would be We'd be in the same position
048of positions open. We're not going to post it or hot you know, so on. We We would start to allow these folks to apply for transfers that would occur at the end of the year if someone's going to retire or resign. And and And some some some of them have already, you know, you know, they I mean, they look at the future and the potential of I want to make sure that, you know, I have a place to land and so on. And some have already requested transfers and and we're being very accommodating to to those requests. Um I have a question about uh Riverside and William Allen White, which can hold these students, uh which is good to know. But we say that Riverside could take four new sections, William Allen White one new
049section. Now, I'm the eternal optimist because I've lived in Emporia longer than any of us, and I've seen our ebbs and flows. And we as a community tend to bounce back. So, I'm wondering how many beyond the four sections Riverside could take, and how many beyond the one section William Allen White could take. Yeah. And And when I say when I say three or four at Riverside and one at William Allen White, I'm just projecting what we might need, what they can actually take on. Um You can get very creative in a school, right? All If you went into either one of those schools, they look completely full right now. But there are there are there are people, things, activities, stuff taking up spaces that don't necessarily need to take up those spaces. Uh Riverside
050could could be a four-section school across the board um without necessarily taking up a lot of, you know, additional spaces um that are being used for other things. Um William Allen White, uh you know, we're saying one. I I'm sure it could take another three or four beyond that. Um But I I haven't I I haven't dug into that. >> Okay. But just as a follow-up, if if we did get the potential for growth, other programs would have to move out of those buildings to make room for the new students. It's a possibility. I mean, like there's a special program at Riverside Mhm. um that, you know, if we had if we had a better space for it, um that's always that's always an option. Um just like if you if we were to close
051Logan Avenue, um we have a program there that we would have that we would also need to relocate, the Connections program. In in the perfect world, you don't have to do these things, but you even can get to the point of, you know, I've been in a situation where it's art on the cart and things like that. I mean, you do what you have to do in a school, but we don't anticipate those kinds of things being necessary. I don't have anything on the hori- on the horizon that gives me any indication that we're going to start growing for for some time. Okay. Thank you. Um You You addressed um teachers and staff requesting transfers starting next year. Um if we were to close Logan, would families also have that same option if they wanted
052to transfer their students starting with the 2026-2027 school year, could they do so? The families obviously have the same um opportunities that they've always had to to transfer call it the transfer portal, right? Um that's a common term these days. They They can transfer by normal means. We're also going to keep our eyes and ears open on, you know, I mean, let's say I mean, I could foresee potentially, you know, we have two sections We have two kindergarten teachers currently at at Logan. I could And And I think we have 20-22 students. I could I could see the potential that an incoming group of of uh families might want might want to say, "Hey, could I potentially just start my student where they're going to end up going rather than have them go to the
053school for 1 year?" We We need to listen to that. We need to connect with those families, you know, one-to-one, as a group. And And, you know, if if I've got 18 kindergarteners that want to transfer over to Riverside, and I've got a teacher that I can move over there and and and have that happen, that's what we should do. We're We're We're going to try to avoid, you know, uh allowing transfers that create a a situation where we have to hire more staff. But if we can move people around and accommodate um transfers like that, then yeah, it's a it's an option. I know I've talked to Walker. You know, he his his projection is that maybe the third grade families might think that way, too, rather than rather than do my fourth grade
054and then it closes in fifth grade. So, we definitely are going to We're definitely going to listen to those um those kinds of um ideas, the desire to transfer. And And if we have room for them, uh you know, in the school, we'll do it. And if we don't have room for them, but it makes sense to move a teacher and make room for them because we don't need that additional section at Logan anymore, then we we can do that. We're going to have to, you know, our our our staff's going to have to work with us on it, obviously, uh in order for us to make it happen. I do really appreciate that um you talking about the transportation tonight. That was a really big concern that we've heard from quite a few people.
055So, I'm I'm very thankful that that's something we're offering. Um not just considering that, but but that we definitely will. Um that's really important for the safety of students. Uh a follow-up on the transportation. What would it take to make that policy that students are bussed instead of um being expected to walk across major highways and railroad crossings? It It really isn't a policy is not required. I mean, they're within the within the KSD regulations and the statutes, it allows for that. I I guess my concern is, you know, we all aren't going to be here forever. You aren't going to be here forever. So, what happens a few years from now when we are making the decisions? >> it. We can identify it in, you know, in in in our documentation as to why
056we're doing it and that we've we've deemed this uh to be hazardous for crossing and it'll be there in the record. Okay. All right. It's hard to write a policy like that to account for every thing that might come up in the district and so, you know, and since since we already have an avenue to make it happen, I think that we're in Sure. I I understand that. I also understand coming from Emporia that promises have often been made and broken. My goal is never to break one to you or the community, Barb, while I'm here. Now, some people might think I've already done it. I I hope not, but I don't I don't I don't think I have and I I work very hard to not to do that. I I That's that's why
057this is it's it's difficult, right? I couldn't I It's like you you you have to address the problem and deal with it and and maybe there's fall back because of that, but there's going to be greater fall back down the road if I if I don't at least provide a solution that addresses the problem because then you could very much point at me and say, I was a part of the problem because I didn't help solve it and didn't point it out. I have a question um and it may be more of of a thought, I guess, just looking at where we're at here and the deficit we're projected to run and the fact that the legislature has been talking about looking at the school finance formula um and without getting into too many of
058the specifics, they've already taken some action to kind of change how they count certain things because how you count things can affect how much you fund them. I just feel like we're in a position where I expect that whatever formula they're going to come up with is probably going to give me less money, not more, right? So, I I kind of feel like that's on our horizon as well with respect to cost containment beyond what we do here to fix this gap. Um if you can speak generally and what contingencies can we do to prepare for the likelihood that maybe we're going to go through this and then we're still going to be getting less state aid? Yeah, I mean, I think that's I think that's why this is important to to act on, you
059know, now that the especially the 3.2 million that you've already acted on and then here we'll have, you know, let's let's say all of a sudden, you know, a year from now, um funding's changed and we're going to receive less. Well, closing the school would have we would have already addressed $1.4 million of whatever reduction we would have seen. Now, I'd love to be able to use, you know, reallocate that money to uh you know, some of it in reserve, some of it toward health insurance and staff staff salary, you know, just using it for for our people and and programming and so on. You know, you don't you It isn't necessarily that we're going to um just take all of this money and either reallocate it all to something else or save it all,
060right? It's a combination of things. It's what it's what makes the most sense to the school district. Realize too though that the board does have an identified contingency fund in emergencies like an emergency contingency that's a part of those reserves. That's $1.9 million. Um but I I definitely think that you're right in that um you know, it's important for us if we can to to actually build our reserve a little bit before before these changes occur. I My hope is that they will they've waited so long because of the impending elections uh to work on the formula which expires at the end of next year that the best thing that could happen to public schools would be for them to get themselves backed into a bind where they just have to extend it for a
061year the way it is. Because what we have is going to be better than whatever they propose. I I'm that's a promise I'll make and someone else is going to have to keep it for me, but I I I'm pretty confident in it. Um you know, and then we'll probably get into statewide lawsuit over funding. Uh we're that close already just over special education funding. Um the groups we work with, the attorneys we work with are trying to hold that off because I think it's a part of the bigger picture. Um but it's it's been proven time and time again that sometimes that's what it takes to get the move the needle moving again, but in the meantime, the needle stays flat on funding for two or three years and that's why this work's important
062for us. And I would add um as someone who sat in a lot of legislative committees this year, um I there is definite discrimination to alter that formula, but the bigger um motivation is to change the formula for at risk funding and I that's really um that's going to be hard for our district. I feel like we just finally figured out like how we can effectively spend it and use it and now it's something that we might be at risk of losing some of now. Yeah, cuz it districts are funded on the waitings, right? And the at risk waiting is significant in Emporia. And if you take all the waitings together, we're we're funded for almost twice as many students as we have not not, you know, probably 75, 80% more than we actually physically
063have because of the needs our students have. And at risk is one of those big pieces for us that if they change it, we will be we'll be you know, I hope it doesn't get to the point where we're pulling a team together and going through. What I want to do is manage this along the way. When we have positions open up, let's let's evaluate them, make sure that we need them. You know, just just consistently look for more efficiencies cuz I I'd love to avoid not having to close schools in the future. Any more questions? Okay. >> Thank you. We'll be moving to the public comment section. All right, our first speaker I'll ask to come forward is Olivia Grover. Olivia, you'll have 3 minutes as soon as I say go. Good evening. Before
064you make the final decision to close Logan Avenue, I have a different recommendation for you to ponder. I know funding for public education is getting scarcer and tough decisions are going to need to be made as the years go on. It was indicated by the superintendent and the board that future closures are very possible and probably will happen. My recommendation is to close Walnut Elementary School instead of Logan Avenue. Closing Walnut first will provide a more centralized building for the board offices and those students will be more easily and equally dispersed which will lessen the burden on teachers overall. If the decision to close Logan Avenue is made and the closure of another school is necessary, then the next school to be closed would be William Allen White due to their low enrollment numbers since
065that is the proposed reasoning for closure. That would mean the placement of all the students from William Allen White and Logan Avenue would go to Riverside or move into Walnut. If you were to send Logan students to Walnut as opposed or to Walnut, the travel distance between the schools would be 2.4 miles as opposed to the maximum travel distance of 1.7 miles if you consider transporting Walnut students to Village or the 1.6 miles to Riverside. If Walnut is considered for closure in place of Logan Avenue, that would allow for Logan Avenue to receive students alongside William Allen White's which makes more sense for travel and transport. Both Logan Avenue and William Allen White have classrooms to be filled. In the case of Logan Avenue, it has the added benefit of being a property that can
066be built upon for further expansion in the future. I fear closing Logan Avenue will put an undue strain on the staff, students, and school environment of Riverside which is the school that will receive 2/3 of Logan students. I hear very often about how overcrowded the classes in Riverside are and how many employees feel that they are not being adequately supported given the amount of students per classroom. I mean no offense when I say this, but you do not handle firsthand the everyday behaviors of these students which will only be worsened by being packed into classrooms. You do not handle the many days where the building is short-staffed and adults are needing to take working lunches just to cover those classrooms. Closing Logan Avenue and transferring the majority of those students to Riverside, an overloaded school,
067is a recipe for disaster. I please have the district reevaluate its options and look at schools as more than just a number. I urge you, the board, to make the decision to not only look out for the students, but also the teachers. Stand by them. For without them, a school is just a building and students are just kids. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Daniel Flores. Okay, thank you. Good evening. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening. My name is Daniel Flores. I am the music teacher at Logan Avenue Elementary. Tonight, I am speaking to respectfully ask the board to reconsider the proposed closure of our school due to budget cuts or due to um the funds. Every day, I walk through the doors of Logan Avenue and greet students and family from many different backgrounds. Our
068school reflects a beautiful, diverse community and vibrant community. The Hispanic community in particular is one that is very close to my heart as I am a Hispanic educator myself. One concern I want to raise is how the board can decide to close one of two one of only two schools on the south side of town, an area that historically been home to many of our students and families of color. Logan Avenue is also one of the only two schools on the east side of town where many of our non-affluent student students live. Closing a school in this area would place an even greater burden on families who face financial who face challenges accessing resources in transportation. Decisions like this have real impacts on communities who already work hard to ensure their children have access to
069stable supportive schools. We also have empty classrooms waiting to be filled. Instead of closing the school, I ask the board to re-evaluate. For many of our students, Logan Avenue is more than a place of learning and reading learning to read and do math. It is a place where they feel seen, understood, and supported by educators who know their community and their experiences. I understand that decisions like this are not easy. However, I ask the board to pause this decision and re-evaluate the options. I believe that there are ways to address financial challenges while still protecting schools that serve as important anchors for their community. Our families and students deserve stability, opportunity, and a voice in decisions that affect their education. Thank you for your time and for considering the impact this decision will have on
070the children that we serve. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> PATRICIA PARKS. GOOD EVENING. THE DECISION TO close Logan Avenue School will directly impact the quality of education for our children. When schools close, students, as mentioned, will be moved to larger schools, larger class sizes, where teachers must support more students with their wider range of needs that will reduce their individual attention, which makes it harder for them to identify and address learning gaps at an early age, especially for students who are already struggling. We know that smaller class sizes lead to stronger academic outcomes. In a smaller school, teachers can intervene quicker, adjust their instruction, and build relationships that will support learning. In larger schools, this often is delayed. I've spoke with a parent whose child waited 5 months to get reading support at one of
071our larger schools in the district. He is now behind. She is removing three of her children from our district next year to home school. Closing all schools can place a significant burden on our teachers and staff when they are stretched too thin. It impacts their ability to provide meaningful instruction. For students with greater needs, those from low-income households, students who experience trauma and special education, these students depend on stable routines, familiar environments, and trusted relationships with teachers and staff. Feeling safe and known at school is not just emotional. It will directly impact their ability to focus, learn, and make progress. Disrupting that stability can set them back academically and increase existing gaps. At Logan Avenue, students and teachers and staff benefit from our strong culture and climate where they are supported and able to thrive.
072That environment directly contributes to their success. Closing the school will lower the quality of education by increasing class sizes, delaying support, and overloading teachers, and disturbing their stability that many students and staff, especially our most vulnerable, depend on. I urge you to pause, consider the academic, social, and emotional impacts carefully, and explore alternatives before making this permanent decision. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> [applause] >> Stephanie Drescher. Thank you. I have a million reasons why Logan Avenue shouldn't close. Some of them are in this room. >> [snorts] >> But tonight, I'm going to extend thank yous to the board. I spoke to you guys last month about some unsafe playground equipment. You fixed it. Thank you. To [clears throat] the teachers over the last 13 years that have taught my three kids, thank
073you. >> [snorts] >> To the student support specialists who take the time, thank [snorts] you. To the office staff who know me by first name, thank you. To the special teachers and all the thought and process that you put into your music programs and your field days, thank you. To the lunch staff who serve the kids and open my son's yogurt every day, thank you. To the custodial staff who greet our children with a fist bump and keep our school spectacular, thank you. To the paraeducators, the teacher aids, the strategists, the child care providers, therapists, speech pathologists, and nurses [snorts] who show up every day, thank you. And last but not least, Mr. Ayers, thank you for everything that you've done for me and my family, and what you've done for our school and our
074Logan community. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> JACKIE GAY. GOOD EVENING. I AM JACKIE GAY. I am a current concerned citizen of this community in which I have lived nearly 70 years. I live in the Logan Avenue Avenue area on South Mechanic. I'm a retired single school teacher. Been retired for 32 years. I taught at Lowther Junior High School, Lowther Middle School, and Emporia Middle School for 31 years in this district. My background is I'm very rural. I was raised in Lyon I No, I wasn't raised in Lyon County. I was raised in southern Johnson County, Kansas. I attended a rural school for 6 years. I went to Gardner High School when it was small, rural high school. >> [clears throat] >> And that's my background. And I'd like to first say thanks to the board,
075Dr. McGeehee, Casey, and the board for all the work that you have done, and thanks for giving us the time to express our concerns. I feel like our district is making a great effort in trying to live within their means, but I hope that we also realize our community goal is to improve the opportunities for our children within the district where they grew up emotionally, spiritually, and academically as best we can provide for them. Thirdly, I am personally I personally value the theory, give them the best community within our community possible. Neighborhood schools. Yes, Emporia's population has decreased for lots of reasons, but our district created some of the decrease in our elementary schools. Elementary schools were decreased when the sixth graders were moved out of the crowded elementary schools to Lowther North. Fifth grade
076was moved to Lowther South for a period of years, but wisely, we did see return them to the elementary schools. Thank you for that. Even though many of you were not on the board. You were You were affected by it though, some of you. Uh But the main thing I'd like to say, I may be old-fashioned. I may be out of date for 2026, but I think we must all remember the children is why we have a school district. And we need to give them the opportunity to grow up. We should not be sending 10th 9 10-year-olds, 11-year-olds uh uh out of their community within which they Thank you, Jackie. Your time is up. Sarah McGready. Good evening. My name is Sarah McGready and I stand here tonight as a proud Logan Avenue parent and
077advocate for a school that is doing so many things right. Logan Avenue is so much more than just a school. It's a community that shows up. Our students are proud to be there. Our families are involved. Our staff goes above and beyond every single day to make sure kids and their families feel safe, supported, and valued. And I mean that every single day. We are not just educating students here, we are building confidence, connection, and belonging. Logan Avenue is a place where kids are known by name by all staff. They are greeted by Principal Ayers and other staff every single morning, even in the rain and the freezing cold. They are out there fist bumping and greeting them by name every morning. >> [snorts] >> Our students are encouraged and given opportunities to grow in
078ways that are both academic and personal. Closing Logan Avenue school won't just move students. It will take away a place where they feel rooted, seen, and supported. And once that is gone, it is not something you can simply recreate in a new building or a new school. Relationships, trust, and community are built over time, and that is what makes Logan so special. So, as you make this decision, I ask that you truly consider what we are losing, not just what is being moved on a map or what is being saved financially. Because for our kids, this is not just about where they go to school. It's about where it feels like they belong. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Nathan Writing. Nathan. Um I think that it what's been said has been pretty great. I don't
079know how much more I could really add. I do have a couple thoughts I'll share. Um I I've mentioned before I work as a speech and English pathologist in several schools. Um and I I've heard from many, many people in multiple schools there's price that Logan Avenue was the school that was chosen to be closed because they knew that school closure was was probably on on the in the cards. Um My para that started this year as well, she goes to all the same schools that I do, and she said to me that she was shocked because what she said was, Logan Avenue has the greatest vibe of the schools. Um and many people indicated that they thought another school um would be would be chosen. Um I think I understand the reasons why um
080Logan was picked, Logan Avenue was picked. I I don't agree with those choices, um and I think that many others in the community um agree that Logan Avenue school was was not the right school to be uh chosen for this. Um One of the individuals I spoke with um couldn't be here tonight. I I provide speech therapy for preschoolers also in in um Emporia at various schools I work at. And the mother of one of them asked me a question. She said uh this family lives in the Logan Avenue boundaries, and um she's working tonight. She asked, "Why why do they always go after this side of town?" Um and I don't know who they is uh in general, but I I didn't really have a good answer for her. Um If you do move
081forward with this decision, I would ask that you you find an answer for her. Um And answer why target the area that keeps getting the short end of the stick. And I can share that with her. Um I was also wondering um different amounts had been given, and and you've done a great job, Dr. McGee, of explaining like how you don't know exact numbers. We had heard 4.5, and then recently said closer to 5 million even. And I'm not the greatest at math, but I I know that like even with if closing Logan Avenue and phase one and phase two, we're not going to even reach that. And I know that some aggressive staff attrition or additional program cuts might be needed, but then it also it was shared that in um an interview with
082someone back in March that a couple other closed schools might be successive for being closed, so I would appreciate transparency in what else might need to be Megan Betts. Good evening. My name is Megan Betts, and I'm a USD 253 parent and member of this community. I'm here tonight to address the recent decision to close Logan Avenue Elementary. Not from a place of emotion alone, although my daughter goes there. But also about the process and the data that led to this decision. I'm in this healthcare field. I look at data every day. I do not use one singular data point. Our doctors do not use one data point. For you guys to use enrollment as a singular data point is concerning. I did attempt to find or to obtain the financial data and cost analysis
083used to justify closing Logan. Mr. Langrand did respond to my request, which included reports such as building level operation cost, staffing cost, enrollment comparisons, anticipated additional transportation cost, any financial analysis used in the discussion of these school closures, consolidations, or restructuring, the number of classrooms in each elementary school and their capacity, the anticipated emergency plans to accommodate an influx of students, God forbid we get hit with a tornado like Ottawa just did, or we have some sort of school shooting that just happened earlier this week across our nation. And the square footage of each building and the number of rooms that could be utilized. However, I was informed that obtaining this information would require a cost of over $100. All of this information should have already been put together, in my opinion, when you're discussing
084closing a school. So, why is why is the cost associated with that for a CORA request? So, if this analysis does not exist in a clear consolidated form, then what exactly was this decision based on? If not solely enrollment, which should not be the singular data point in any decision. Closing a school is not a small administrative adjustment. It directly impacts children, families, neighborhoods, transportation systems, classroom sizes, and emergency preparedness. Right now, from the perspective of a parent and a taxpayer, it appears that decision making has outpaced documentation. This is not about placing blame. It's about ensuring the right decision is made, the right school is closed for the community. I understand that the financial challenges the district is currently facing across the state, it's similar hardships in every district right now. Hard decisions need
085to be made. But I may be speaking from the outside, but I do so with a perspective shaped by being raised by a father who is a coach, a teacher, and an administrator. I understand the weight of these decisions. They're hard. They affect someone at some level every time. But I will leave you with five simple principles that have guided me, and I hope that you reflect on they reflect on you as you move forward. I'll work hard. I'll do my part. You won't hear me complain. I'll never go down easy, and I will always pull my weight. >> [applause] >> All right, that is all of the people that we have signed up requested to speak. Is there anybody else who would like to make a public comment? My name's John Alvarado, born and
086raised in Emporia. Family goes back 130 years. Nine brothers and sisters went through this school, Mary Herbert. This is not just Logan Avenue's problem. It's a community problem. We've been facing this for years. The de- the decline of jobs, good paying jobs, and that's nobody's fault, but who we have brought into the community. We've let substandard employers come to Emporia and bring our wages down. For you, Dorsey, to put point to finger at the city and the county, no. Don't go there. Cuz I've got I've gotten out of time with you. It's nobody's fault, but the community and not getting on top of these not the new board members, but the previous board members. We spent more money than we were knowing that was going to be coming in allocated for. 40% of everybody's tax
087dollars, property taxes, go to you guys. And how you spend it is the reason why we're in this situation. These families from Logan Avenue, teachers and that, should not be upset. They should not be facing this problem. You guys put us in this position. We didn't need all the new schools the way they're remodeled is. You were going by a pipe dream and hoping without looking at the true statistics across nation. It's been in a trouble for a long time and we're headed for some hellacious times, I promise you. It's coming. You guys don't You might not see it cuz you stay in this community. 4 weeks ago I was in Gulfport, Mississippi. Last weekend I was in Kentucky. I travel a lot. We see a lot. And some of that stuff is coming our
088way. And it's going to be hard. Like I say, it's sad that we even got to be having this meeting about worrying about closing school. I'm glad you stepped it off a year. And all we can do is pray that we can bring something into the community to change this. That's it. But like I said, it's it's no it they shouldn't be upset. It's you guys that are previous board members, not the board members, new ones, but you guys spending. Got to cut spending everywhere. Have a good day. >> [applause] >> Can you please state your name and your address, please? >> Yes, Yuliana Reyes Montoria, 1719 Thompson Street. Good evening. I'm a proud Logan parent. I have two students that currently attend Logan Avenue, fourth and a first grader. Um I just want to
089let you guys know that my kids have had an awesome experience at Logan. They're excited to learn. They're seen. They're heard. It's shaping who they are. And I'm so sad and um to see the outcome now that they want to close Logan. So I urge you to reconsider this. Um a couple years ago I moved out of the Logan area district. Um my kids were they were just so upset the thought that they would be going to Village. And I couldn't I couldn't do that for them. I I I wanted to keep them there cuz I didn't want and I know kids are resilient. But they had they're heard, they're seen, the staff knows me by name. Um the principal is out there every single day greeting them. I've never seen a school that does
090that and it's shaping who they are. So I urge you to reconsider because my kids are so excited to go to school every single day, but it's because of the staff that's there. It's the culture that was built. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay, could you please state your name? Sorry. Yeah, I'm Rachel Goodman and I'm 925 Quail Creek Road. Okay, Rachel, go ahead. >> Yeah. So I hello, everyone. Hey. Um I'm Rachel. I live in the Logan district as well as a proud proud parent of a first grader and hopefully a kindergartner in the next couple years. Um I just want to say I support Logan. I love Logan. It's absolutely amazing. Um I work in higher ed, so I understand budget cuts. I understand stretching and making it thin. Um I'm currently doing
091four positions in my role and it's hard and I get it, but there's an impact on our students when that happens and an impact on ourselves. These people are great. So just reconsider. >> [applause] >> Hi, could you state your name? >> I'm Tabitha Salcido. And address? Like my house? Yeah. 704 East Gatewood. Thank you. Go ahead. Okay. Hi, I'm Tabitha Salcido and I currently work as a parent at Logan Avenue. I attended Logan from my elementary school days and both of my children have also attended Logan Avenue for all of their elementary school. So I get Logan Avenue holds a very special place in my heart. When you walk into the doors of Logan Avenue, you'll see smiling faces eager to greet you with open arms. This isn't just a school, but a loving
092a but a loving safe place for students and staff. Many staff members call Logan Avenue home and I'm lucky to be among them. At Logan Avenue, it isn't just about numbers. It's about providing students with a stable, supportive, loving learning environment that they are happy to come to every day. Our teachers and staff show up every day for our students. Parents are happy to send their children to school knowing they are safe and loved. At Logan Avenue, we are a family and I can talk all day about the Logan Avenue community and the impact that it has made and continues to make on many children and adults, but I you won't understand unless you have been a part of that community. I challenge you to visit Logan Avenue if you haven't and you would instantly
093feel the warm, welcoming atmosphere that feels the halls. We don't have much at Logan Avenue, but we have each other. And as you walk the halls, you'll see colorful bulletin boards and students' work that they take pride in. You'll see a Candyland board with the Lions law tickets for Lion law tickets where they have reached 4,000 tickets and Mr. Ayers is willing to give out of his own pocket a ice cream Sunday party for them. You will see students with smiling faces who are so happy to be there. You'll see staff always willing to lend a helping hand and to greet you with a family hello. When you walk into classrooms, you'll see teachers who are teaching lessons and making sure students' needs are being met. They are praising students and providing them with a
094learning environment where they feel confident and supported. You will see students engaged in learning and completing work. Some may say there are teaching jobs everywhere, which is true and luckily for me I have Logan Avenue has helped me grow as an educator. I have learned a lot of knowledge from the amazing teachers at Logan. I can take my knowledge and experiences and be a wonderful educator anywhere, but today I'm not here fighting for my job. I'm fighting for our students and their families and the whole Southside. Closing Logan Avenue will not only impact the students and staff who show up there every day, but everybody on the Southside. Many of our students walk to school and many of these state families will not have means to get their children across town to different schools. This
095would increase our truancy rates and leave families with no choice. These families work hard every day for their children and this isn't fair to any of them. Many students and families and educators have come and gone in the many years that Logan has been open, but one thing has always stayed the same, the need to serve the economically disadvantaged families of the Southside. Logan is it is important and needed to continue to serve these families. Logan is all some of these families have. I ask you to think about our students and their needs before making a final decision. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? SO thank you for coming to address the board. We we appreciate that. We want to hear from you. Um the next steps for this process is that's
096the end of our public hearing. We're going to adjourn. Uh but there's another piece where there could be a petition. Um and in that case it would go to and please correct me if I'm wrong, Dr. McGee, that this is going to go could go before the State Board of Education. They have to sign off on whatever Um and so this is going to be a continuing process. Our intention is next week is to have a vote on this. Uh again, no matter what we decide next week, we still have to wait for the uh approval by the State Board of Education. So just wanted to explain that timeline. I wasn't fully aware that there's a multi-step process to close the school and rightfully so, but I just want to kind of share what the
097kind of coming weeks are. So I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Actually, we need to close the hearing first, please. >> Um just a motion to close the hearing? I move to close the hearing. Second. It's been moved and seconded, please cast your vote. Motion passes 7-0. Now I would entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded, please cast your vote. Motion passes 7-0.