Boise School District votes to close an elementary school despite parent outcry
Boise School District trustees have decided on the future for a Boise Bench elementary school: Close it down.
The Boise school board Monday approved the administration’s recommendation to shutter Owyhee Elementary starting with the 2025-26 school year, despite outcry earlier this year from parents who said they loved the small school and the close-knit community it fostered.
The district said it recommended closing Owyhee in part because the school’s enrollment has steadily declined in the past decade. About 140 students are enrolled in the school this year, and only about half live in the school’s boundaries, according to the district.
District officials plan to convert the building into an early childhood learning center for students ages 3-5, and they expect the facility could serve up to about 350 pre-kindergarten students. The district also has a lot of pre-K students who live on the Bench, and a waiting list, so Owyhee would be a convenient location.
The district offers early childhood options in many of its elementary schools but it hopes to move to a center model. District officials said early childhood centers better accommodate young learners because the building can be outfitted specifically for students ages 3-5. The central location also allows teachers to collaborate and creates an inclusive environment, where students with disabilities can be educated with peers without disabilities in general education classrooms, the district said.
During the meeting, several people testified for and against the proposal and trustees said the decision to close the school was difficult, but that it would benefit the district’s earliest learners. Trustee Nancy Gregory said the district has some of the top professionals in the state who care.
“We do things in this district that are right for kids, but not necessarily the easiest thing,” she said. “We don’t make this decision lightly. We value neighborhood schools.”
Trustees said they appreciated the emphasis on creating inclusive and accessible classrooms.
“I’m very convinced that integrating our classrooms and improving accessibility in our classrooms is really important, both for students with disabilities and students without disabilities,” Trustee Shiva Rajbhandari said.
Trustees also encouraged parents to stay involved through the transition and thanked families for their involvement.
District faced pushback from parents
When the district first announced its plans to repurpose Owyhee, the announcement was met with surprise and pushback from parents.
Parents said they weren’t informed about the plan and that the district’s communication was misleading, making it seem like the closure was a done deal before it was finalized. In an effort to be more transparent, the district in May announced the board would vote on the closure.
“While neither state code nor district policy requires a vote of the board for repurposing a school, we believe that this proposal merits a direct vote of the board,” district administration and trustees said in an email to Owyhee families.
The district also sent a survey to families in the boundaries of Owyhee and three other nearby elementary schools, but of the 1,482 recipients, only 72 filled it out. Those who filled out the survey raised questions and concerns about busing, class sizes, traffic and safety. People also asked about the benefits of an early childhood center model.
During the meeting, Board President Dave Wagers apologized to parents for the miscommunication and the process. He said the board would need to go back and look at its policy and appreciated that families pointed out the district’s mistakes so it could improve.
A few parents during the meeting testified against the closure, arguing that the district could offer pre-K options at its elementary schools that were inclusive and served young learners. Parents also questioned the efficacy of early childhood learning centers and warned that the district could be destroying the community with the closure.
Others, including pre-K teachers, testified in support of the learning center. They said having a building specific for young kids, with appropriate-sized facilities, makes a significant impact on students. Teachers also shared stories about how students with disabilities thrived in inclusive classrooms, which they said positively impact all students.
District officials said they plan to establish a boundary committee of stakeholders, solicit feedback and create a proposal to redraw the district’s boundaries, which will likely reroute students at Owyhee to Hawthorne, Hillcrest and Whitney elementary schools. The boundary recommendations will be presented to the board in the late fall, according to the proposed timeline, and the district plans to open the early childhood learning center next fall.
This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 8:36 PM.
