It’s been a tumultuous five years for Precious Criddle and her family.
In 2022 her two oldest kids were attending Whitney M. Young Elementary, a magnet school within walking distance from her Shawnee neighborhood home. She was planning for her youngest to join them for kindergarten when Jefferson County Public Schools threw a wrench in their plans: not only would Young be changing locations to a building miles away from her home, but the district was also cutting transportation for magnet students.
Criddle doesn't own a car and had no way to transport her kids to Young’s new location, so she enrolled them in King Elementary, the only other elementary school within walking distance in her West End neighborhood.
Her daughters thrived at King, Criddle said.
But now, the district plans to throw her and other west Louisville families another curve ball. At the end of the year, JCPS plans to close King and move its students to Maupin Elementary, three miles south in Parkland.
It’s part of a proposal to close and consolidate schools with low enrollment projections and high costs, as JCPS’ leaders hope to find savings and efficiencies amid a projected $132 million budget shortfall. The Jefferson County Board of Education has the final say on whether to move forward on the proposal. They plan to vote during their Dec. 9 meeting.
“We know this will be difficult,” JCPS Superintendent Brian Yearwood said at a November press conference announcing the plan. “But it is a necessity for the long-term future of our district and most importantly — most importantly — for our students,” Yearwood said.
Now with King on the chopping block, Criddle’s family faces yet another school change due to circumstances outside her control. If the board approves the consolidation, her oldest daughter will start a new school year at a new school for the third time in five years.
“It’s very frustrating, as a mom,” she said.
Criddle’s children are among 837 students who would be impacted by the planned closures, consolidations and location changes, according to a JCPS spokesperson. More than 80% of the students impacted by closures are Black, Latino and other students of color — groups JCPS has historically struggled to serve as well as their more privileged peers. Black students make up a disproportionate share of students impacted by the proposed closures, relative to their share of the district’s overall population.
Asked about the disproportionate impact on students of color and low-income students, Yearwood said the district aims to provide a quality education to every student “regardless of background, regardless of geographic location.”
JCPS joins a number of districts across the country considering closures and consolidations amid declining enrollment, population shifts and budget dilemmas. Some civil rights groups have argued that closures that disproportionately impact students of color are unfair and could be discriminatory.
Research shows school closures harm student outcomes, resulting in lower attendance, drops in test scores and more frequent behavioral issues. But, studies also show those impacts usually turn around after about three years.
Asked for comment, Louisville NAACP president Raymond Burse said the civil rights organization is still finalizing its position.
Louisville Urban League President Lyndon Pryor told KyCIR that the proposal is a product of generational disinvestment in the largely Black area. The higher costs to operate aging schools and the challenges students bring to the classroom can be traced to the historic and present day segregation in the city.
“The issues of JCPS are Louisville's issues, and we have to do better,” he said.
The plan
Emails obtained by KyCIR show District 3 board member James Craig asked staff to evaluate schools for consolidation after a board meeting in September, when staff painted a new, dire financial picture for the district.
“Following last night’s presentation, I’m curious if any savings could be had in next year’s budget by combining/etc. schools,” Craig wrote to top JCPS staffers on Sept. 17.
“Yes,” replied Rob Fulk, the district’s chief operating officer. “The district can save money, and more importantly — provide better service for students consolidating and closing buildings."
Last week, Yearwood detailed the plan at a press conference. He said he aimed to close, consolidate or change the locations of five JCPS schools starting next fall. The proposal, Yearwood said, would save $4 million, about 3% of the projected $132 million shortfall.
“But small things add up,” he said.
The plan calls for the closure of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, built in 1968 in Shawnee. Students would move to the newer and underenrolled Maupin Elementary. A KyCIR analysis shows combining the schools would put Maupin at 107% capacity, which the district considers within the range of optimal enrollment: 75% capacity to 115%.
Zachary Taylor Elementary School, built in 1958 on Westport Road in east Louisville, would also close. Zachary Taylor students would choose from elementary schools in the Ballard High School cluster: Chancey, Dunn, Norton Commons, Norton, Portland and Wilder.
Yearwood said the district plans to sell both properties as part of the proposal.
Liberty High School, an alternative school for students behind on credits, would close as well. Yearwood said JCPS now offers credit recovery in its regular high schools, and that Liberty is “no longer necessary.”
“Students will return to their reside schools with mandated personal learning plans. We'll also provide an accelerated path to credit recovery,” Yearwood said.
Waller-Williams Environmental would take over the current location of the Georgia Chaffee Teenage Parent Program (TAPP) in Fairdale. Fulk said the current Waller-Williams building is set to be demolished as part of the rebuilding of Western High School.
Meanwhile TAPP would move to the Gheens Early Childhood Center near Male High School. Fulk said making TAPP more centrally located will be more efficient for the transportation department.
Yearwood has not ruled out additional school closures.
“We're hoping not to, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you, ‘No, absolutely not again,’” he said. “We're challenged with a certain deficit.”
A push to "optimize"
Yearwood and Fulk said those schools were chosen based in large part on a new assessment staff created called the “Facility Profile Index.” It’s a score given to each school based on the condition of the building, the cost per student and the projected enrollment.
King and Zachary Taylor were among the schools with lower FPIs. According to JCPS, the district spends about $33,000 per student at King, nearly $10,000 more than the district's average per-pupil cost at elementary schools. Meanwhile King’s enrollment is at 70%.
Zachary Taylor is at 49% capacity this year with a per-pupil cost of around $27,400 per child, according to the Facility Profile Index report.
Fulk said the district’s per-pupil costs are a “true cost-per-kid to the district” encompassing fuel transportation and school maintenance costs, a figure that can be considerably higher than what is reported by the Kentucky Department of Education.
Reached by phone, Craig said that discussions about school closures have been ongoing since he joined the board, starting with the closure of Gilmore Lane Elementary in 2019. Then the board shuttered Phillis Wheatley Elementary in the California neighborhood and Roosevelt-Perry Elementary in Russell, and consolidated them into the new William H. Perry Elementary in 2023. And this school year, the board consolidated Whitney M. Young Elementary, originally in Shawnee, with Engelhard Elementary in Old Louisville.
Wheatley, Roosevelt-Perry, Perry and Young are all in the city’s West End.
Craig said Fulk gave him a presentation on school additional closures in 2024.
The board member said he will periodically request one-on-one 60-minute presentations from staff.
“We reviewed the entire operations division and brainstormed a couple of different ideas for the future of the district to ensure optimal operations,” Craig said. He said they reviewed enrollment at all 90 elementary schools and "evaluated the pros and cons” of operating elementary schools with low enrollments.
Craig called the closure of schools “heartbreaking.”
“I know Zachary Taylor Elementary like the back of my hand. I'm there all the time,” he said. But he said families in the neighborhood are opting for magnet schools, or transferring to other schools in the district.
Craig supports the plan to close the Title 1 school in his school board district, and move students to other schools to “optimize” enrollment. He said schools with optimal enrollments are better able to provide robust “add-ons” such as music, and foreign language.
“It's a painful, tragic decision,” he said. “Though I celebrate [Zachary Taylor’s] successes, it is best for the community.”
Meanwhile, District 1 board member Gail Logan Strange told KyCIR she wants more information before deciding whether to support the plan. Her west Louisville district includes King Elementary.
“What's the benefit, other than financial?” she asked. “There has to be some educational benefit."
Pryor, the Urban League president, said elements of the plan “make sense.”
“King as a facility is old, outdated, and, quite frankly, in need of significant renovations,” Pryor said.
He also noted that King’s scores on state tests have remained low for many years.
“Maupin, on the other hand…seems to have turned a corner and is on its way up, “ he said. “And so if there is the ability to integrate those students from King into Maupin to benefit from the change that is happening there, I think that is good.”
KDE data shows both schools improved test scores in reading last year, though Maupin made greater strides.
Still, Pryor said he wants the district to provide adequate resources to support students during the transition.
What’s next?
Parents and supporters of King say they plan to hold a protest ahead of a Dec. 3 community forum on the proposed closure. Criddle, the mom with two daughters at King, said she plans to be there.
“The girls, they love King,” she said. And she does, too. She loves the teachers, how they’re respectful, helpful and communicative. She loves how close-by it is. She’s hoping the district decides to keep it open where it is.
The school board wants to vote on the measure at a Dec. 9 meeting. The vote will follow a series of public forums:
- Forum 1: Monday, Dec. 1, from 5–6 p.m. at Kammerer Middle School. Address: 7315 Wesboro Rd.
- Forum 2: Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 5–6 p.m. at the JCPS Center for Professional Learning. Address: 3903 Atkinson Square Dr.
- Forum 3: Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 5–6 p.m. at Academy @ Shawnee. Address: 4001 Herman St.
The district is also soliciting written feedback through this Google Form.
