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Kansas City, Mo., Officials Ponder Closing Up to Half of Schools

By The Associated Press — February 23, 2010 1 min read
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Kansas City, Mo., officials are considering a proposal to close half the district’s schools as they struggle to cut up to $50 million from the upcoming academic year’s budget.

Under the plan, Superintendent John Covington has proposed to the school board that 29 to 31 of the district’s 60 schools be shuttered, eliminating as many as 285 teaching positions. The district’s population has shrunk from 75,000 students in the late 1960s to 17,000 today.

The proposals also call for the redistribution of grade levels and the sale of the downtown central office. Mr. Covington wanted to present a final plan for a vote at a Feb. 24 board meeting.

A version of this article appeared in the February 24, 2010 edition of Education Week as Kansas City, Mo., Officials Ponder Closing Up to Half of Schools

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