DC schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced today she has cut the city's school closing list from 20 schools to 15.
In addition, she said she would not send some middle school students to high schools or combine other schools for safety reasons stemming from neighborhood disputes.
She said the system - which consulted with police and neighborhhod groups sees the potential conflicts as "powder kegs we are not ready to deal with. Saving money is important, but children's safety is more important."
The five schools that survived the cuts are: Francis Stevens Education Campus, Garrison Elementary, Johnson Middle, Malcolm X Elementary and Smothers Elementary.
About 140 staff positions are still expected to be cut, but highly rated teachers are likely to be retained in other positions because of retirements and resignations.
"I don't believe effective teachers will lose their jobs," Henderson told reporters.
The revised list comes after weeks of intense community meeting and new enrollment figures suggesting some underutilized schools could see higher enrollments.
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"Consolidation is one piece of the puzzle," Henderson said.
Henderson said she would use the estimated one-time savings of $20 million to improve course offerings and staffing at other city schools. The school system expects to save about $8.5 million in each of the following years. Those funds also will be used to staff arts, education and language classes, among others.
Most of the changes will go into effect this fall or next year.
The schools to be closed are:
MacFarland MS
--students will attend their in-boundary education campus school or Raymond EC
Sharpe Health School
--students will attend Roosevelt HS
Mamie D. Lee School
--students will attend River Terrace
C.H.O.I.C.E. at Hamilton
--C.H.O.I.C.E. will relocate to the Emery building
Marshall ES
--students will attend Langdon EC
Spingarn HS
--students will attend Eastern HS, Dunbar HS, or Woodson HS
Spingarn STAY
--students will attend Ballou STAY or Roosevelt STAY
Prospect Learning Center
--students will attend neighborhood schools
Shaw at Garnet-Patterson
--students will attend Cardozo HS
Davis ES
--students will attend Plummer ES
Kenilworth ES
--students will attend Thomas ES or Marshall ES
Ron Brown MS
--students will attend Kelly Miller MS
Winston Education Campus
--students will attend Stanton ES or Kramer MS
Ferebee-Hope ES
--students will attend Hendley ES
MC Terrell-McGogney ES
--students will attend King ES
