JPS Board votes to close 11 schools, merge 2 more in 2024

Thirteen Jackson Public Schools are closing or being merged.

The JPS Board of Trustees made it official in a 5-1 vote Tuesday evening after months of deliberations and community forums discussing the optimization plan. Board Member Cynthia Thompson, who represents Ward 6, was the only one opposed. She was in tears after the vote.

"Jackson Public Schools is at an inflection point. If we don't take action right now, we could jeopardize the entire district," Superintendent Errick Greene told the board before the vote. "As hard as it might be, it's time. It's time to take action."

Thompson called for an amendment before the vote to remove Wingfield High School from the list of schools to be closed. But the amendment failed in a 3-3 vote.

When Board Member Edward Sivak, who represents Ward 1, called for a vote multiple members sat frozen, seemingly not ready to make a decision.

Before voting in favor of the plan, Board Member Barbara Hilliard expressed how difficult the decision was. But ultimately, she said it needed to be done.

“How long can we just keep putting off what needs to be done, should’ve been done,” Hilliard said. “We’ve made good strides, and I don’t want to see us go backwards because we’re trying to stretch out something that’s really not there.” 

These schools will be closed or consolidated:

• Dawson Elementary School (closed)
• Lake Elementary School (closed)
• Lester Elementary School (closed)
• Marshall Elementary School (closed)
• Raines Elementary School (closed)
• Sykes Elementary School (closed)
• Shirley Elementary School (closed)
• G.N. Smith Elementary School (closed)
• Obama Elementary School (consolidated with Northwest IB)
• Wells APAC Elementary School(consolidated with Bailey APAC)
• Chastain Middle School (closed)
• Whitten Middle School (closed)
• Wingfield High School (closed)

The closing schools will shutter in advance of the 2024-25 school year.

According to Greene, the benefits of the plan include clearing up funding to reinvest in buildings that aren't closing, provide stable staffing and extend the district's offerings in athletics and the arts.

The optimization plan was first proposed by Greene back in October. The main reasons for the plan are declining enrollment, expensive investments in the school's facilities and issues with staffing teachers.

Of the 55 Jackson Public Schools, 16 were initially recommended for closure, including 13 elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Greene recommended cutting down the list to 13 during the Dec. 5 Board of Trustees meeting.

The decision to lessen the number of schools was made after careful consideration and evaluation of the district's resources, as well as the number of students who attend the schools in the area, Greene said at the Dec. 5 meeting.

The 2015-2016 school year saw a total of 27,267 students enrolled at JPS. That has declined by almost 10,000 students, with last year's enrollment numbers at 18,773. 

Greene also proposed the relocation of both Obama Elementary School to Northwest Middle School and Wells APAC to Bailey Middle School in 2025 due to ongoing renovations.

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Four Jackson residents spoke at the start of the meeting, urging the members of the school board to not close the schools, specifically Wingfield High School in southwest Jackson.

Andrew Watson, the head football coach at Wingfield, told the board that closing the high school would be a detriment to the surrounding communities.

"It affects careers, and it affects lives, either way it goes. And that's something you all are going to have to live with," Watson said.

Board Member Mitch McGuffey, who represents Ward 7, was the first to speak in opposition for keeping Wingfield open, citing that the costs of seven high schools is too much for the amount of students enrolled in JPS. He also worried about the cost of maintaining Wingfield — which has multiple maintenance issues — and the dollars it would take away from other schools that also need repairs.

But he acknowledged that closing Wingfield would be hard on its students.

“The hardships we are making for those kids are absolutely real, but I also think it’s absolutely necessary,” McGuffey said.

Sen. Hillman Frazier and Rep. Chris Bell, of the Mississippi Legislature, both attended the meeting in support of the optimization plan.

Bell warned that not closing some schools to free up funding could put the district in jeopardy of a state takeover in the future. In 2017, the district was near a takeover after the Mississippi Department of Education conducted an investigation that found the district in violation of 19 accreditation standards.

"Understanding the difficult situation, I stand in favor of it (the optimization plan) because I know what will come out of legislation that tries to take over JPS. And that's not what I want," Bell said. "JPS has risen from the ashes. ... This is a difficult decision I totally understand, and I totally understand the sentiments of everyone in this room who oppose the closure of the schools."

"But in order to fulfill our destiny and keep us together as a community, we have to do something."

Frazier, who represents District 27 in the Mississippi State Senate, told the board that the state legislature funds schools based on population. A former JPS student himself, Frazier said the plan was necessary because the school does not get the funding it did when he was in school, back when the district had 30,000 students enrolled.

He also told the board that once the schools are closed, it's imperative to find a way to repurpose the buildings.

Greene said there are already plans to launch a Facilities Advisory Committee to help figure out the best way to repurpose the buildings. He said 23 people who have already expressed interest in serving on the committee. Also, the district has secured funding to hire a consultant to staff the advisory committee to help field interests in specific buildings. 

Walking out of the school board meeting, Greene appeared somber.