By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The first of three meetings on the fate of St. Louis public schools will be held tonight at the Gateway Institute of Technology. Faced with what it claims is a $90 million budget deficit, the district is considering closing some buildings to divert cost savings into instructional programs.
At the meeting, parents will see large poster boards outlining the district's criteria for school closures, and which schools meet those specifications. Sharon Murphy is with the district interim management team:
"We're soliciting two-way communication here," Murphy said. "We want them to see the criteria and we also want to hear what they have to say it's very important to both the interim management team and the board that we hear their issues and concerns about all of the schools."
The district plans to have a final list of schools it will close after July 15. The meeting at Gateway High School starts at 6:30 p.m. A local citizens group is hosting its own alternative meeting about the district tonight at 6 p.m. at the St. Louis Gateway Classic Building.