Cedar Rapids school board to consider millions in cost saving measures Monday

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids school board Monday will vote on a resolution authorizing the superintendent to take administrative action to implement millions in cost saving measures for the 2026-27 school year.

District officials have proposed about $13.6 million in cost saving measures — excluding up to $7 million in proposed school closures and realignment — in recent weeks for long-term sustainability as the district grapples with declining enrollment.

Recommendations include reducing millions in professional development and consulting contracts, reducing $500,000 in staffing costs at the district’s central office, eliminating 33 teaching positions, freezing curriculum purchasing and eliminating software.

The school board meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at the Educational Leadership and Support Center, 2500 Edgewood Rd. NW, Cedar Rapids. The meeting is open to the public. There will not be a public comment period because it is a special session.

Other cost-saving measures include a recommendation to close up to six elementary schools and Truman Early Learning Center, which would save the district up to $7 million annually.

In a newsletter to families Thursday, Superintendent Tawana Lannin — previously Grover — said there will be no school consolidations for the 2026-27 school year.

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“This intentional pause allows us to understand the daily impact on students better,” Lannin said.

The school board will vote on a proposed plan for community review and feedback at its board meeting Feb. 9. Throughout the spring, district officials will bring that proposal to families and the community for additional feedback and deeper conversation, Lannin said.

“After listening to more than 100 families, staff members, and neighbors at our recent board meeting, my heart is full. Discussions regarding school closures are deeply personal. The passion you displayed is a testament to how much our community loves our schools and, most importantly, our students,” Lannin said.

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“Transparency requires partnership, and partnership requires listening. While there is a desire to move quickly to end uncertainty, we have heard your request to slow down. I will be recommending a new timeline for the board to consider to ensure we move forward with excellence.”

The school board is expected to make a final decision on consolidations in April, with changes not taking effect until Fall 2027.

More than 200 people turned out Monday at a Cedar Rapids school board meeting — and many spoke against the plan to close up to six elementary schools and create an intermediate school model that would serve fifth- and sixth-graders.

“The last thing any of us want to do is close our own buildings down, but we also recognize if we don’t make changes to the inventory of the buildings we have, we are spending money on things that don’t help our kids and we become less competitive with other districts, private schools and charters if we don’t fund those things,” Kennedy High School Principal Jason Kline said during the five-hour meeting.

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Under two slightly different proposals, Wright, Cedar River Academy, Cleveland, Nixon and Pierce elementary schools are proposed to close. One of the proposals also includes closing Johnson STEAM Academy.

Under the plan, 12 to 13 elementary schools would serve preschool through fourth grade; three middle schools would shift into intermediate schools that serve fifth- and sixth-graders; and three existing middle schools would serve seventh and eighth grade. The district’s three traditional high schools — Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington — would continue to serve ninth through 12th grades.

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