Ogden residents, parents, and teachers are invited to town halls every night this week to talk about possible school closures.
The first was Monday night at Taylor Canyon. Ogden School District spokesman Jer Bates says this is not an easy thing to talk about.
“They came with concerns, but they came ready to have an open conversation,” he said.
Bates says each night this week, other schools have their own town hall starting at 6pm. Tuesday is Wasatch Elementary, Wednesday is Gramercy, Thursday at Hillcrest, and Friday at Polk.
He says the Ogden School District has had declining enrollment for 8 years, from smaller families to move-outs to charter schools and other reasons. They lost 450 students this school year alone and they can’t keep bleeding money by keeping all the schools open.
The Ogden board of education will meet March 15 to discuss whether consolidations will happen fall 2018 or 2019.
Bates stresses that Teachers and staff would be transferred with the students so no jobs should be lost.
Anyone with questions or concerns can email communications@ogdensd.org