51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Nearly half of the 68 public schools in the city are in such poor shape that they will need to be replaced or closed in the next 10 years, according to a regional architecture firm.

If all the buildings stay open, the cost of upkeep for 51黑料 Public Schools will reach an estimated $1.8 billion by 2044, representatives from Illinois-based told the school board at a meeting Tuesday.

鈥淩eally critical thought needs to be put into whether or not to continue investment in some of these specific facilities,鈥� said , a vice president with the firm.

The district has $28 million in immediate needs for plumbing, electrical, roofing, HVAC and other structural concerns, the firm estimates.

The figures do not include the 20 or so vacant school buildings still owned and maintained by SLPS.

School buildings begin to rapidly deteriorate after 40 years, with most abandoned after the 60-year mark across the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average age of SLPS buildings is close to 90 years old, district leaders estimate.

Adams Elementary, built in 1878 in the neighborhood now known as Forest Park Southeast, is the oldest school in the district. The newest schools, Carnahan Middle and Clyde C. Miller High, opened in 2003.

The number of SLPS students has steadily fallen since peaking at 115,543 in 1967. This year, enrollment in kindergarten through high school is 16,542. After decades of declining enrollment, the schools are only half-full, on average. About 26 schools have fewer than 200 students, considered a benchmark for financial viability.

Buder Elementary in the Southampton neighborhood has the highest student capacity rate in the district, with 91%. Several schools are below 30% capacity, including Walbridge Elementary in the Walnut Park East neighborhood, which has 105 students this year.

The school board also learned Tuesday that the district expects a $133 million operating deficit in fiscal 2025, mainly because of the end of pandemic relief funds.

The numbers all add up to the district鈥檚 need to close a large number of its 68 schools, said one local educational consultant. The last round of SLPS closures came in 2021, when eight schools shuttered.

鈥淭he number of schools needed is not north of 40,鈥� said , who has been tracking SLPS data. 鈥淯ltimately, there needs to be a right-sizing that is big enough that it doesn鈥檛 have to happen every three or four years.鈥�

, chief operations officer for SLPS, said the information released Tuesday is the first phase of a facility master plan. Demographers will now assess birth rates, population trends and transportation needs in the city for the second phase to be completed by December.