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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Students are lagging their peers academically, and buildings stand in disrepair. The proposal from the Memphis-area schools' leader? Start over.
Close 28 schools, build 10 new ones and put additions on five more, suggested Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson. Under the plan he outlined this week, about 15,000 of the district's nearly 100,000 students  would attend schools in brand new buildings, some of them in neglected Memphis neighborhoods.
Building and demolishing all those schools would take 10 years and cost $700 million. But it would eliminate about $102 million in needed repairs to existing schools, or about 20 percent of the list of projects throughout the district, after years of neglect during financial hard times.
Money can't be the only driving force behind closing schools, Hopson said.
Students in the high-poverty district lag their peers in the state and across the nation academically. While the district has seen growth in its lowest-performing schools and in early literacy this year, just 1 in 4 students in third, fourth and fifth grade reads on grade level.
Hopson says closing and combining schools will help. For one, students have fewer resources at smaller schools, such as access to advanced classes.
Hopson has also long advocated for facilities to look like welcoming places for kids to spend eight hours of their day.
"What we know without a shadow of a doubt is that learning environments matter," Hopson told the Shelby County Commission on Wednesday.
Still, the possible financial savings matter.
The district, which merged with Memphis City Schools five years ago, must downsize. It is Tennessee's largest district, but it has 17,000 open seats in classrooms across the county and a growing list of over $500 million in needed repairs.
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A report released last year showed the district spends an extra $8.8 million annually in operational costs — not including maintenance — because of the number of small, inefficient schools. Fifty of the district's 140 schools have low or severely low enrollment, Chief of Business Operations Beth Phalen said.
Part of the plan is already underway. The district is merging four schools on the closure list into two new ones: Goodlett and Alcy elementary schools. Under Hopson's plan, that leaves 24 more schools to close and eight more new ones to build.
"I think it's thoughtful," board member and facilities committee chairman Billy Orgel said. "It improves opportunities for our students and their families. I don't think that will be the final plan that we adopt, but it's a good start."
Other board members and county commissioners pushed Hopson to develop a plan to engage with parents and other community members while the district is closing schools.
"Fear is going to destroy any momentum you might get," County Commissioner Tami Sawyer said.
The Shelby County Commission has long requested such a plan. But what happens to the proposal after Hopson presents it is unknown, as his last day as superintendent is Jan. 8.
He is resigning to work at insurance giant Cigna. The work to analyze the district's footprint and present a long-term plan is his last major project of his six-year tenure.
He leaves the district in significantly better financial standing than when he came. He has also overseen the improvements in early literacy.
His Innovation Zone turnaround program, which adds an extra hour to the school day and pays the strongest teachers and leaders extra to work in the toughest schools, has saved dozens of schools from either closure or state takeover.
Hopson's latest plan features a new idea for the district, a single campus in the Raleigh neighborhood that would house students their entire educational careers — from kindergarten through 12th grade. That portion of the plan counts for two of the 10 new proposed schools.
Part of Hopson's proposal also includes breaking up students at one school between two or more new buildings, depending on where they live.
Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Struggling students and crumbling schools? Start over, Memphis superintendent says
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