COEUR D’ALENE, ID—Coeur d’Alene Public Schools says a $6 million budget shortfall may force the closure of Borah Elementary School.
The proposal to close the school is due to multiple factors.
“The proposal we’re making for Borah Elementary is based on, really, location and enrollment size. It is one of our two smallest schools in the district. And it’s on the east side of the district where we have several schools,” Patty Morrison, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, said.
If the school were to close, Morrison claims that there will be spots for teachers and staff at Borah Elementary to move to other schools.
“So what will happen, in essence, is by repurposing that school… [the district will] move the students to surrounding schools and…making those school sizes a little bit bigger,” Morrison said.
Numerous factors explain the school district’s budget shortfall, including less state funding, lower enrollment and increased costs to keep the schools running.
Another way to fix the deficit is to cut 65 jobs within the school district.
Those jobs could include, but are not limited to, classroom assistants, crossing guards, nurses, counselors, instructional coaches, library managers, speech-language pathologists, etc.
Adopting a 160-day calendar is another proposal.
The proposals will be discussed at a meeting on Friday, and then the School Board will make its final decision on May 13.
Borah Elementary has been open for 70 years.
