(La Porte, IN) - There's been a change in the location for the La Porte School Board meeting on Monday where a recommendation will be made on whether to close Lincoln Elementary School.
Late this afternoon, school officials revealed the meeting will be at La Porte High School and begin with a work shop at 5 p.m. in Schulze Hall. The regularly scheduled board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.
Originally, the meeting was to be held at the Educational Services Center inside the former Boston Middle School.
Currently, the plan is to close the school at 402 Harrison Street at the end of the school year and redistrict the students to Hailmann, Handley and Riley elementary schools. Schools Superintendent Sandra Wood cited an average districtwide enrollment decline over the past 10 years of 63 students annually for proposing to close the school along with a continued loss of students projected until 2031.
She said schools across the state are also experiencing declining enrollment from lower birth rates, families relocating along with school choice. Wood is in her first year as schools superintendent in La Porte.
“When I accepted this position, I knew that hard decisions would be necessary to better align the district resources and lead to a prosperous future for the La Porte Community School Corporation. The previous ‘wait and see’ approach regarding enrollment has only worsened the problem,” she said.
Enrollment declines have also resulted in falling revenues since education money from the state is based on student head counts.
“If we have to make a hard decision, it has to be made early enough to allow time to prepare. We want stakeholder input to plan. We have nine months to move forward with a comprehensive and respectful plan for our staff and families,” she said.
If the school is closed, Wood said the plan is for the building to become an early childhood center through a merger with the district’s preschool program.
Last year, there was a proposal to close Kingsford Heights Elementary School but the school was allowed to remain open in response to new housing construction in recent years and plans for more within the district of that school.
