3 high schools could close under Indianapolis Public Schools plan (updated)

Update (May 11, 2017): This story has been updated to include an additional meeting added to the schedule by IPS and an updated location for the May 15 meeting.

Indianapolis Public Schools will close three high schools in the coming years if the school board approves a recommendation from the administration. But it’s not yet clear which schools face shutdown.

Decades of enrollment declines have left the district with high schools that collectively enroll less than half as many students as they were built to educate. District leaders have been contemplating closing schools for months, but the outlines of the plan are just beginning to take shape. There is already a plan in motion to convert John Marshall High School to a middle school this fall, leaving seven other high schools. A report from a district facilities committee released Friday calls for keeping four IPS high schools open — and shutting the doors at three unnamed schools.

A Chalkbeat analysis last July revealed that empty class rooms are driving up costs at IPS high schools, and the district anticipates that it would save as much as $4 million per year by closing three schools.

The recommendation marks the beginning of a planning process that is expected to last until the fall, when the board plans to vote on closing high schools.

The committee will present their recommendation to the board at a meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday at School 15, 2302 E. Michigan St. Community members can sign-up online to offer comments.

Read our prior coverage for more details:

IPS will host four community meeting before making a decision:

6-8 p.m. April 26
Glendale Library
6101 N. Keystone Ave.

6-8 p.m. May 1
Ivy Tech Culinary Center
2820 N. Meridian Street

6-8 p.m. May 11
Zion Hope Baptist Church
5950 E 46th Street

6-8 p.m. May 15
Hawthorne Community Center
2440 West Ohio Street

6-8 p.m. May 18
Garfield Park Burrello Family Center
2345 Pagoda Drive