After two months, nearly a dozen meetings, and multiple reversals, the St Joseph School District Board of Education says it has committed on a vote to close Lafayette High School and convert the building to a middle school beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. The vote will occur at their board meeting on Nov. 24, which has been the board’s self-imposed deadline to decide on a school consolidation plan as it faces a funding crisis.
The plan up for consideration is known as 4BR, and is derivative of a former plan considered by the district (the ‘R’ stands for ‘Revised’).
At a special meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 19, Superintendent Ashly McGinnis outlined the plan.
“Benton and Central would be the two high schools,” she said. “Lafayette would transition to a middle school. Closed facilities would include Eugene Field Elementary, Pershing Elementary School, and the Webster Learning Center.”
In prior plans, administrators had arranged to consolidate the district to three middle schools. Maintaining four, as this plan does, allows for a “more phased approach to district consolidation,” and is “less disruptive” overall, McGinnis said.
At the Nov. 19 meeting, the board also considered a plan known as 2B, which would transition Benton to a middle school, and keep Central and Lafayette as high schools. According to administrators, the cost savings and student and staff impacts are similar in each plan.
The board heard hours of public comment during its meeting, which was its tenth in the past two months. Board members opted to moved forward with the Benton and Central model, 4BR.
The board has wavered in its commitment to choosing a plan all fall, leading to countless meetings defined by suspense and anxiety. Board members report losing sleep and receiving hundreds of emails a week.
To move forward with Plan 4BR, it will have to rescind its prior vote, made unanimously on Oct. 27, to move forward with a community-supported plan known as ‘Plan E.’
Support for that plan fell apart when administrators reported that it would deliver insufficient cost-savings. Select board members have been determined to choose a single plan for consideration on Nov. 24 to increase the possibility of a firm commitment from a majority of members.
As consensus formed around Plan 4BR, President LaTonya Williams challenged her board members to commit:
“Everyone is in agreement?” she asked. On Nov 24, she said, “we’re not adding any other plans on the agenda. We are not adding any other maps. Everybody understands?”
Board members concurred they will show up on Nov. 24 for a final vote on the school consolidation effort which community members say will change St. Joseph for generations to come.
