Proposed school closings in Grosse Pointe

[Casual]

Grosse Pointe Woods — School officials in the Grosse Pointe Public School System are recommending the closure of either Poupard or Mason elementary schools in the north end of the district and the closure of one or more elementary schools in the south end.


No decisions were made Thursday night about school closures, but officials presented their ideas to a Blue Ribbon Committee of parents, school officials and local taxpayers Thursday night as the group and district attempt to help the school board address long-declining enrollment.


Jon Dean, deputy superintendent of educational services, said because two other north-end elementary schools, Ferry and Monteith, each can hold 600 kids, the district does not recommend closing those schools because there is not enough room in the other elementary schools to move students.


"Poupard or Mason must be closed," Dean said.


If Poupard, located in Harper Woods, is closed, the district recommends providing transportation to those students to new schools.


"It is our only Title 1 school," Dean said.


The Blue Ribbon Committee considered four options offered by the district:


•Option A would close Mason and Barnes, and turn Kerby into an early childhood center [[ECC)


•Option B would close Poupard and Barnes, convert Kerby to an ECC


•Option C would close Barnes, Mason and Trombly, and convert Kerby to an ECC


•Option D would close Barnes, Poupard and Trombly, and converts Kerby to an ECC


After 15 years of declining enrollment and a determination to right-size without opening its doors to Schools of Choice students, the Grosse Pointe Public School System sought Thursday to identify specific buildings that could close.


Lynn Weber said she has come to every meeting held by the district related to school closures and reconfigurations. Weber has two elementary-age children and said she is glad she came to Thursday's meeting.


"To see the names is pretty scary," Weber said. "No one is going to be happy. I don't think they have done their due diligence. This is the first time I have had a piece of paper with information and numbers on it."


Superintendent Gary Niehaus said the district would present at a public meeting different scenarios under which a specific school would close that would include the operational savings, bond savings and projected land value.


The goal is to have at least $1 million a year in savings and be at least 80% capacity at as many schools as possible, Niehaus said.


Niehaus told the crowd of about 100 people Thursday that whenever a district adds or subtracts from its building stock, school boundaries change.


"If the boundaries change, we may have saved a school but you may not be in the same attendance boundary as before, Niehaus said.


Members of the Blue Ribbon Committee also were asked to consider where to place an expanded early childhood center, with the district recommending Kerby or Barnes.


Discussions about whether the district should close one, two or three elementary schools in the south did not identify buildings by name.

Declining K-12 enrollment has translated into financial losses for the affluent Metro Detroit school district and enrollment has declined for 17 years, school officials said. With each student equal to around $10,000 in school revenue, the district's average 100-student drop per year is $1 million lost.


Grosse Pointe's schools are not alonel. Statewide K-12 student enrollment has been on the decline for years. Enrollment is forecast to drop another 10% through 2025 in southeast Michigan.


But after years of watching enrollment drop in their own district, Grosse Pointe parents, taxpayers and school officials now are grappling with how to balance the district and set a deadline for June 30 so the school system can save between $1 million and $2 million annually.


The idea of closing elementary schools and moving fifth-grade students into middle school buildings, two concepts under consideration by school officials, has produced emotional and often caustic debate in the community and across social media.


The district's peak population in recent years was in the 2004-05 school year, when about 8,930 students attended. About 7,600 students are enrolled this school year across 14 school buildings.


The committee is meeting from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday at Parcells Middle School's auditorium at 20600 Mack in Grosse Pointe Woods to discuss its work. The district will also host more town halls through May to gather community input on the reconfiguration work of the committee.


Options include closing at least two of the district's nine elementary schools and reconfiguring grades across the district, such as moving fifth graders out of elementary school and into the middle schools that currently serve grades 6-8.


Savings would come from closing buildings and needing less staff, school officials said.


School board president Brian Summerfield said maintaining the current nine elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools and one early childhood center will not be considered.


A K-6 and 7-12 configuration will also not be considered, Summerfield said, and neither high school will be closed and high school boundaries will not be changed.


Summerfield said the district might be the last "mature district" in Metro Detroit to go through the painful process of closing schools due to a declining student population.


The board will consider many factors when deciding whether to close a particular school, Summerfield said, such as location and size.


A building analysis done by the district says capacity ranges from 55% to 85% at the nine elementary schools, from 69% to 86% in the three middle schools and 54% to 73% at the two high schools.


A closed building could be mothballed, repurposed or sold, Summerfield said.


The board of education also will not consider Schools of Choice, an option to open its doors to neighboring school districts to receive their children and their per-pupil foundation grant from the state, school officials said.


Board treasurer Judy Gafa, who said she was speaking for herself and not the board, said many people in Grosse Pointe "firmly believe they pay their taxes for their schools, and our children should attend those schools."


Choice, Gafa said, creates flight and a pattern of moving.


The district, which has its own enrollment eligibility investigation office and tip line for suspected student scofflaws coming from other districts, is 74% white and 16.5% African American. One of its high schools is 28.3% black.


The district boundary lines include all five Grosse Pointe communities and a portion of Harper Woods, a community that is 59% black.


School closures will provide the district savings in the number of jobs eliminated, Gafa said, from custodians to teachers to principals. The goal will be to allow teachers to retire and the district will not replace them over time, she said.


The district considers itself a walkable district but will not provide transportation when schools close for general education students, another issue that raises concerns for some parents.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...z7URRdaOaHMGPY

[O3H]

The Grosse Pointe Public School System is holding town hall meetings in April and May to discuss its reconfiguration proposals. All begin at 6:30 p.m.
April 24: North High
April 25: Kerby
April 29: Mason
April 30: South High

Can the children be bussed across town for diversity and sensitivity training ?

[middetres]

Make South and North HS have completely severed feeder system of 3 elementary schools and 1 middle school each

For North that means closing Mason Elementary and moving any Brownell Middle School students to Parcells.

For South that means closing Trombly, Richard and Kerby Elementary schools, make Brownell an elementary [[can still convert Kerby to an ECU as well).

And explore moving 5th graders to the middle schools and 8th graders to the HS if it makes for better building utilization. The HSs can carve out an 8-9th grade academy separate from the 10-12th grade, but still in the same buildings.

[Danny]

Blame decline enrollment. The best solution is schools of choice to lure folks from all over Metro-Detroit cities to their districts. I know those folks in Richville can do that.

University Ligget can do that, too.

[poobert]

Bugs me when we close schools and libraries all over the place but cities have to bend over and take it when Amazon wants to come to town.

I hate to drive by the Chandler Park Branch and see it all falling to pieces. Probably was the last positive thing left in that neighborhood. I used to go to the Monteith Branch Library in Detroit. Open, but only two days now. More of a museum or monument than anything.

I'm not a socialist but damn it's stupid. You can't get anywhere without education and books and they're increasingly out of reach. Yet the rich get richer.

[313WX]

The Pointes no longer have an obvious draw.

Lake St. Clair and proximity to downtown.

[313WX]

I used to go to the Monteith Branch Library in Detroit. Open, but only two days now. More of a museum or monument than anything.

Who exactly would that library serve full time?

Most of the neighborhood is deserted, aside from areas south of Jefferson.

[iheartthed]

I don't think the Pointes will be alone in having to make decisions like this... Millennials of all economic status are having fewer kids than their parents, and the most affluent are not rushing to raise the kids they do have in a John Hughes movie type of suburb.

[SyGolden48236]

Median house price in the Pointes is $362,000. The average house price has gone up 7% in the last year. If the market says that Grosse Pointe is not desirable, why are the house prices going up?

https://www.zillow.com/grosse-pointe-mi/home-values/

Meanwhile Birmingham's values have only increased by a mere 6.1%. It seems that the Emperor [[of the trolls) has no clothes.

https://www.zillow.com/birmingham-mi/home-values/

[cramerro]

GP isn't perfect. It's schools are a major draw for families with kids. I grew up in GP, and have lived in Lansing area and western Wayne County - recently moved back for... the schools. It's pretty remarkable, based on many other pretty respectable districts [[Livonia, Birmingham, Southfield, Farmington, Redfords, etc) having had gone through major downsizing, that GP has never had to close a single school up until this point.

The News article that detailed this topic points out that demographics of one of the high schools [[North) is almost 30% African American [[SEMCOG regional average African American is 21.6%)- this isn't simply a district with one segregated elementary school, even if the community as a whole is still mostly white. As a planner I'll also toss in a hearty acknowledgement of the significant red-lining that took place for decades in the GPs in blatant, racially motivated segregation by institutions. There are many other threads that cover that universe of history.

Bottom line here is: people aren't having as many kids. Without the ability to add more houses to the total, even the best districts will see the decline. The GPPSS has gone through a very long process to get to the current state of recommendations, which includes responsible steps to make the district sustainable. If you look at a geographic distribution of elementary schools, I think they will/should close Mason, with Poupard and Ferry pretty evenly spaced to cover the north fifth of the district with still-walkable schools. It's a shame, too - Mason was built pre-depression [[1927) and is amazing from an historic architecture perspective - similar architecture to GP South HS, whereas Ferry and Poupard are 1950s-60s standard brick boxes. They will also probably close one or two schools in the south end of the district, hopefully with a similar approach to trying to maintain reasonable walkable elementary school coverage. They've gone through many iterations of grade-shuffling, specialty schools, etc. Enrollment can't support this many schools. Adjustments must be made.

As someone who has felt the life-long need to dis-prove the stereotypes of the GP community as a racist, snobby, entitled bubble of rich folks, I'd ask that you at least consider what I've said when forming your knee-jerk characterizations of school closings as racially motivated.

[SyGolden48236]

......... GP has never had to close a single school up until this point......

Actually G.P.P.S.S. did close an elementary school in 1984. Barnes School was closed amidst much community angst. I remember it well.

[O3H]

What is the root of a communities angst about closing a school ?
Does the location of that education really make it a huge factor.

[cramerro]

SyGolden - right you are. I was referring more to the changes from 2000-present where many districts were closing and/or restructuring many schools. Barnes is likely to be re-closed [[adult ed and early childhood) and sold as part of this effort.

[cramerro]

What is the root of a communities angst about closing a school ?
Does the location of that education really make it a huge factor.

The people who are most vocal in the current process are those who contend that they bought their home in GP based on its proximity to the neighborhood elementary school. Especially in the minds of these folks [[and really is fundamentally accurate), losing local elementary will mean loss of walkable school for young kids, loss of closest local open space/park/community building, and therefore loss of property value.

Whether that's a valid top priority isn't for me to say - but it has been a common comment of those most upset about the idea of elementary closings. Obviously the viability of the district is about far more than one school, but to those families who might have their local school closed it will certainly be a big deal.

[SyGolden48236]

What is the root of a communities angst about closing a school ?
Does the location of that education really make it a huge factor.

Yes, the location is a huge factor to many people. Many people bought their house with the proximity to the neighborhood school in mind. Grosse Pointe does not have busses. Many children must walk or bike to school.

[JBMcB]

Bugs me when we close schools and libraries all over the place but cities have to bend over and take it when Amazon wants to come to town.

No they don't, they choose to. Troy doesn't offer tax breaks to anyone. It means they loose some development deals, but the businesses that are there don't feel like they're being screwed when some new business gets a big break and they don't. Meanwhile, the funding for Troy schools is fine.

[O3H]

Kids all over the USA take a bus to school, no biggie, no whoop.
Walking or riding to school - should not be - the straw breaking camels backs

Of course walking in the elements builds character and fitness, right ?

[ndavies]

Kids all over the USA take a bus to school, no biggie, no whoop.
Walking or riding to school - should not be - the straw breaking camels backs

Of course walking in the elements builds character and fitness, right ?

The pointes don't have any and don't plan on buying any school buses. Closing the local elementary means the kids either walk further or their parents drive them.

How far is a 5 year old expected to walk?

[bust]

I just checked. Growing up in GP, I walked or rode my bike 0.8 miles to elementary school, 1.3 miles to middle school, and about twice that to get to high school. At that distance I'd either carpool with an older student who had a car, or when I needed to stay at school late I'd ride my bike or during bad weather find a friend to drive me home. ...Until I bought my own clunker, when I became legal to drive.

No complaints.

Though if I couldn't afford the clunker, three more years so often being dependent on others would have been a drag.

Yes, it did build character. Go ahead, laugh: I was even on the safety patrol. It was also good exercise, I developed a tolerance for cold, and I learned a bit about the value of labor -- I paid for that clunker [[and my bike before it) washing dishes, mowing lawns, raking leaves, cleaning gutters, and shoveling snow.

I think I was 8 when I started walking and biking to school unattended. People weren't so paranoid back then, though. In some parts these days that will result in a nosy neighbor calling child protective services. Walking and biking to school is such a Grosse Pointe tradition though-- I hope that still doesn't happen there.

[iheartthed]

The pointes don't have any and don't plan on buying any school buses. Closing the local elementary means the kids either walk further or their parents drive them.

How far is a 5 year old expected to walk?

I have no horse in this race but... Why wouldn't they just buy a bus or contract a bus service? They'd still be saving a ton of money.

[bust]

I have no horse in this race but... Why wouldn't they just buy a bus or contract a bus service?

I think very few kids would ride those buses. Only some of the youngest, perhaps. The distances I traveled were almost as far as any kid had to, for each of those schools, and I wouldn't have wanted to waste all that time on a bus. I hope kids aren't so averse to riding a bike or asking friends for a favor that today they would. Plus a lot of the time they don't leave school right when the last bell rings, and would still need some other transportation home.

But this deserves research. My opinion, nor any one else's, isn't enough to stand on its own.

[Honky Tonk]

I just checked. Growing up in GP, I walked or rode my bike 0.8 miles to elementary school, 1.3 miles to middle school, and about twice that to get to high school. At that distance I'd either carpool with an older student who had a car, or when I needed to stay at school late I'd ride my bike or during bad weather find a friend to drive me home. ...Until I bought my own clunker, when I became legal to drive.

No complaints.

Though if I couldn't afford the clunker, three more years so often being dependent on others would have been a drag.

Yes, it did build character. Go ahead, laugh: I was even on the safety patrol. It was also good exercise, I developed a tolerance for cold, and I learned a bit about the value of labor -- I paid for that clunker [[and my bike before it) washing dishes, mowing lawns, raking leaves, cleaning gutters, and shoveling snow.

I think I was 8 when I started walking and biking to school unattended. People weren't so paranoid back then, though. In some parts these days that will result in a nosy neighbor calling child protective services. Walking and biking to school is such a Grosse Pointe tradition though-- I hope that still doesn't happen there.

Good post. I agree 100%. I had a similar childhood. The only thing I would add is that it also taught you self reliance.

[O3H]

Sitting next to "others" on a bus, can also develop social skills.
A bus , is not necessarily, a bad thing to experience, for a young child.
Perhaps as they grow up, they'll continue to take busses, interact in a city.

Being driven by mommy / daddy everyday is an isolationist activity.

[archfan]

Sitting next to "others" on a bus, can also develop social skills.
A bus , is not necessarily, a bad thing to experience, for a young child.
Perhaps as they grow up, they'll continue to take busses, interact in a city.

Being driven by mommy / daddy everyday is an isolationist activity.

On my one hour school bus rides, I learned blackjack skills that have served me my entire life, how to take a punch, and got a ton of reading in. Otherwise, I don't recommend it.

[O3H]

Not all learning is fun. Life is harsh and we don't always win.
Isolating a kid from "others" not like them is a cruel selfish endeavor.