Dayton school and city leaders to discuss building plans today

Leaders of Dayton Public Schools and Dayton city government have scheduled a joint press conference for 8 a.m. today to discuss school district facilities.

DPS is considering closing multiple under-enrolled schools next fall, and said the fate of the district headquarters buildings on Ludlow Street downtown are also up for discussion.

RELATED: DPS plans facility meetings, says HQ is under-used

Acting Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said Wednesday that the first two of four planned community meetings on DPS facilities will be rescheduled. Those meetings had been planned for Jan. 10 and Jan. 11.

The eight DPS schools that are the emptiest according to district officials are all in West Dayton — Wogaman (28 percent occupied), Boys Prep (29), Rosa Parks (32), EJ Brown (36), Meadowdale Elementary (37), Meadowdale HS (43), World of Wonder (46) and Westwood (48). District officials said no decisions have been made on which schools will close, or how many.

RELATED: Top 10 school stories from a wild year in education

The six-story district headquarters houses only 150 central office employees, and is “a major financial challenge,” according to Associate Superintendent Shelia Burton, because of $1.1 million in deferred maintenance.

Lolli said last month that DPS had already made contact with the city of Dayton’s development office to talk about opportunities.

RELATED: New numbers show same Dayton schools under-enrolled

About the Author