Norfolk Vice Mayor Martin Thomas thinks it is past time to discuss closing or consolidating schools.
“I don’t think we should continue to talk about it – we need action,” Thomas said Tuesday during a joint meeting of the City Council and School Board.
The meeting was set to be a general discussion in which city councilors and school board members could talk about priorities and how the two entities could work together. Much of the discussion turned to school facilities planning.
Thomas said he has been advocating for the division to take a look at how it utilizes its facilities since 2016, given that the city has increased its spending on schools even as enrollment declines. He referred to a study presented to the school board by Cooperative Strategies in March.
The study outlined Norfolk’s declining enrollment numbers and under-utilization of elementary, middle and high school buildings. It showed that since 2013, the division has operated three to 17 surplus schools, which refers to the number of surplus seats divided by the enrollment of a school by grade level. It also estimated that these surplus schools cost the division $81 million.
Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong said the projected enrollment for the upcoming school year is about 27,000. However, she said actual enrollment could “go up or down. Likely it’s the latter.”
School board members largely agreed to having these discussions moving forward and working with the city. Board member Noelle Gabriel said it is “in our best effort and benefit to work collaboratively” and “plan for the fact that our enrollment is decreasing, but at the same time, we want to offer a high quality, highly effective K-12 education.”
Also mentioned throughout the discussion was teacher pay, school safety and security, school resources, school funding and more. Mayor Kenneth Alexander said another joint meeting will be set in the fall to further discuss ways to address these topics.
Kelsey Kendall, [email protected]
