SLC school board votes to close four elementaries

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City School District Board has approved the closure of four elementary schools in the district, passed by a close vote of 4-3 at its Jan. 9 meeting.

With the vote, the Board agreed to close Hawthorne, M. Lynn Bennion, Mary W. Jackson, and Riley Elementary schools.

 

The recommendation by the Board also includes changing and adjusting the boundaries of 14 other schools in the Salt Lake City district.

The @slcschools school board has approved recommendations to close four schools, and rearrange boundaries for fourteen others. Here’s the list:@KSL5TV #uted pic.twitter.com/UFFZpPIIbj

— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) January 10, 2024

History behind the suggested Salt Lake school closures

On Nov. 20, 2023, the Salt Lake City School District released the names of four schools that it would recommend for closure. They included Hawthorne, M. Lynn Bennion, Mary W. Jackson, and Riley Elementary schools.

At that time, Salt Lake City School District Superintendent Elizabeth Grant explained how district officials came to their conclusions.

Each school considered for closure was paired with another school, and then each school’s positive and negative features were evaluated. For example, Grant said that Mary W. Jackson and Newman Elementary schools were studied as a pair. They found that Newman’s PreK program would be difficult to relocate, but that Mary W. Jackson’s dual language program could be relocated.

The example comparing Newman and Jackson continued by noting that Newman’s building was newer, and it’s neighborhood program serves more students that Mary W. Jackson.

That’s the type of reasoning that officials said led them to recommend Mary W. Jackson for closure. 

 

Previous reporting:

• Salt Lake City School District school closure recommendations
• Salt Lake City School District considering school closures
• Utah school closures normal due to drop in student numbers

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