Superintendent recommends closing David Brewer Elementary; board and community split over timing and planning

Leavenworth, Kan. — Superintendent Dr. Adams told the Leavenworth USD 453 school board at a May 26 special meeting that the district faces continuing enrollment decline and rising costs and recommended closing David Brewer Elementary, but not immediately. "My recommendation is to close David Brewer ... I believe it is too late for this fiscal year. So my recommendation is for the fall or ... the spring of 2027 as its last step," he said, urging the board to place a final decision on the June 8 agenda and to submit RFIs by the following Wednesday so staff can provide requested information.

The recommendation followed a presentation that traced a multiyear enrollment drop (Dr. Adams said the district’s historical high was about 3,900 students and that the district is projected to fall below roughly 3,500) and $6.5 million in operational reductions across two years. Dr. Adams warned that continuing on the current path would mean larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and increased strain on remaining staff, and he framed a school closure as a way to reduce the district’s operational footprint and create capacity to consider an expanded alternative-school model, redraw boundaries, and address transportation inefficiencies.

The nut graph: Board members and members of the public sharply debated whether the board should move quickly. Supporters of accelerating the decision argued the district must close budget gaps projected for the 2027–28 school year and create a runway for alternative programming; opponents said the board had previously agreed to revisit closures in the fall after students move between buildings and asked for more concrete plans on busing, special education placements and classroom capacity.

In public comment, parents and staff pressed the board for transparency and cautioned about community fallout. Parent Daffhne Atwell, whose children attend David Brewer, said: "The truth is this hurts," and asked the board to lead with empathy. Christine Barnell urged attention to special-education funding, saying she had been told there is "approximately about three million shortage in sped funding that has been pulled from general education funding." Mr. Adam, another speaker, urged a performance audit before irreversible steps, citing published district figures that "USD453 spends $21,418 per student in all funds," and argued the district should evaluate how effectively funds are used before closing buildings.

Board members split along lines of urgency and process. Mr. Darling and others said delaying action would leave staff less time to execute complex transitions and that a decision now would let the new superintendent start without an unresolved budget cloud. Several colleagues, including Mrs. Overby and Miss Brown, countered that the board had expected to revisit the question in the fall after enrollment shifts from the intermediate center are complete and that parents deserve clearer plans before a vote.

Dr. Adams and staff described potential alternatives and logistics if the board approves a closure: boundary redrawing, greater use of existing empty classrooms after fifth-grade realignment, and development of an alternative-school program (staff estimated an eventual alternative program might serve roughly 130–150 students and require 15–18 classrooms, though they said a phased approach would be advisable). The superintendent also cautioned that proceeds from selling buildings are one-time capital outlay revenue and would not address ongoing operational shortfalls.

Procedural and legal questions arose earlier in the meeting when some trustees asked whether an attorney needed to be present and whether notice had been sufficient; staff pointed to the district’s newspaper notice as meeting the state statutory requirement for a special meeting notice and offered to follow up with the attorney for record.

No formal votes on school closure were taken during the special meeting. The superintendent recommended placing the item on the June 8 agenda to allow a formal decision at a regular meeting. The board also amended and adopted the agenda at the start of the session to add the pledge and unscheduled patron input.

What happens next: Dr. Adams asked the board to submit RFIs by the following Wednesday so staff can produce any additional information for the June 8 meeting. Board members and community members will continue debating whether to act in June or wait until the fall after student movements are complete. The district has not scheduled a formal vote on a closure date during the May 26 session.