Falling Stars

By Continued

While that larger plan remains in the works, parties to the lawsuit focused first on the school restructurings to give the district enough time to adjust by next fall. This month, Judge Whipple approved most of the changes, leaving only a few relatively minor issues to be resolved.

Under the district's nearly final plan, three of the 10 high schools, as well as an elementary school and a middle school, are slated to close. Roughly half the magnet themes will be cut. And dozens of schools will be reconfigured.

At the high schools, agribusiness, business, environmental-science, engineering, and health-professions themes are on the way out. At the middle and elementary levels, schools are losing themes including computers, classical Greek, German, Latin grammar, and science and math. In addition, arts and sciences and global studies are getting the ax in the middle schools, and communications will be eliminated...