Pratt students may be headed elsewhere

Students displaced by the possible closure of Pratt Elementary School likely would be sent to Sheridan and Lincoln Heights elementary schools, according to a study released by the school district last week.

More than 160 Pratt students would be relocated to Lincoln Heights, and more than 50 students would be sent to Sheridan, according to a study of the impact of the possible closure of the school presented to Spokane school board members.

Both schools are closest to Pratt’s current attendance boundaries and have enough open classrooms.

Additionally, two students would be sent to Stevens Elementary School and 29 students who live in other school district boundaries but elect to attend Pratt would be sent back to their neighborhood schools, according to the study.

No other school attendance boundaries would be changed, school administrations said.

In January Superintendent Brian Benzel proposed closing Pratt in order to help fill a projected budget gap of more than $10 million next year.

At that time Benzel asked staff to investigate the impact the closure would have on surrounding schools and programs and provide specific new attendance boundary recommendations for Pratt’s students.

In addition to boundary changes and a closer look at anticipated savings, staff also examined why Pratt was the school selected for closure.

“The community kind of needed that,” said Mark Anderson, associate superintendent for school support services. “They kind of felt they were getting picked on.”

Initially Pratt was selected for closure because it currently has the smallest enrollment of all of the district’s 35 elementary schools and therefore has the highest cost per student. It costs about $600 more per student at Pratt than at other schools because of the staff-to-student ratio, the study showed.

Pratt also was found to need the least amount of boundary changes, and the change would affect the fewest surrounding schools.

According to the study, Pratt needed 10 available classrooms, all of which could be provided at Lincoln Heights and Sheridan. Other schools required more classrooms space and would affect boundaries for four or more schools.

The staff also examined the anticipated savings from the closure, which is estimated to about $460,000 per year and includes eliminating two teaching positions. However all staff will be absorbed by other schools or reassigned, Anderson said.

A final decision about whether to close the school will not be made until the end of April. A public hearing on the proposed closure is scheduled for March 21.

Anderson said staff will be working with a parent group over the next month to more closely examine the recommendations of the study.