Moment of truth: C.R. board votes tonight on school closings

CEDAR RAPIDS - More than a year of discussion comes to a conclusion at today's Cedar Rapids school board meeting.

Board members will vote on the school closure and boundary change recommendations Superintendent Dave Benson made in February.

The votes come after a yearlong process that began with two studies to examine the district's declining student enrollment numbers and facilities. A stakeholder committee studied the information from those reports to determine a list of possible changes in district boundaries and potential school closings.

The district held two public forums in February to gather public input on the committee's findings. Benson made his recommendations to the school board based on the stakeholder committee's input, as well as information from the public forums and an independent group of community leaders.

Today's meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Grant Wood Area Education Agency Conference Center, 4401 Sixth Street SW.

Board members will be asked to vote for or against the following seven proposals:

1. The Monroe Early Childhood Center closes and its students are assigned to their resident elementary schools - Erskine, Grant Wood and Johnson.

2. Grant Early Childhood Center becomes Grant Elementary School, serving K-5 students. Van Buren Elementary School's boundary area east of the railroad tracks shifts to Grant Elementary.

3. Wilson Elementary students move to Grant Elementary and Wilson becomes a middle school serving students in grades six to eight.

4. Polk Elementary School closes and its boundary is divided into the attendance areas of Arthur, Garfield and Johnson elementaries. Using the permit process, current Polk students may elect to attend any elementary east of both Interstate 380 and the Cedar River: Arthur, Erskine, Garfield, Grant Wood, Johnson, Kenwood, Nixon, and Wright elementary schools. They also have the option of permitting to Taylor Elementary, with transportation provided, to continue with the modified full-year school calendar.

5. Hiawatha Elementary School attendance boundary shifts to include the Five Seasons Manufactured Home Community and Agin Court Apartments. Hiawatha Elementary boundary east of Interstate 380 and south of Boyson Road shifts to Nixon Elementary. Nixon Elementary boundary south of Blairs Ferry Road shifts to Wright Elementary.

6. Franklin Middle School feeders will be Arthur, Garfield, Kenwood and Pierce. Harding Middle School feeders will be Hiawatha, Nixon, Viola Gibson and Wright. McKinley Middle School feeders will be Erskine, Grant Wood and Johnson. Roosevelt Middle School feeders will be Cleveland, Hoover, Harrison and Madison. Taft Middle School feeders will be Coolidge, Jackson and Truman. Wilson Middle School feeders will be Grant, Taylor and Van Buren.

7. Students residing in the Wright Elementary attendance center boundary will attend Washington High School.