Op-Ed: Closing St. Charles High School Would 'Only Cost More Money'

The St. Charles School District would likely spend between $9 and $13 million to consolidate to one high school. 

And that's way too much if you ask the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board. 

Dickinson Hussman Architects and Brent Underwood, a retired superintendent, analyzed the viability of consolidating from two to one high school in the future based on expected trends in enrollment. 

The district contracted with the group in the fall to study the issue because of a perception that closing one high school would save money. However, analysts found there would not be a substantial financial savings. 

Neither high school has the capacity to accommodate students from both schools currently if the district wanted to continue to offer the same level of education, analysts said.

The Post-Dispatch published an opinion piece recently that opposed a consolidated district. 

"Closing a high school won't solve the district's budget woes but would lead to more problems," the newspaper said. "Instead of allowing such a controversial idea to continue festering, dismiss it from consideration, and do so publicly. It's not worth the cost, financially or otherwise."

To read the entire op-ed, CLICK HERE.

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