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The five people elected to the Detroit school board in November will help decide the future of schools struggling with declining enrollment and high operating costs.
There are 19 schools on the Detroit Public Schools Community District’s list of small schools — so named because the revenue generated by enrollment doesn’t cover the costs of school programs and operations. The district generates the list each year.
Many of the schools have declining enrollment. Others face special circumstances that have led to the higher costs. For instance, Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy’s enrollment has plummeted over the last two years because its building is being replaced and students and staff have been moved to another location.
“When the school relocates back to its new building it should return to a balanced funding model,” the 2026 small schools report said.
The district has closed four schools that were previously on the list and plans to close Thurgood Marshall Elementary-Middle School — which is on the current list — at the end of the current school year.
DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has emphasized that appearing on the list doesn’t mean a school is being considered for closure. The annual reports detail the district’s efforts to boost enrollment, market the schools, or seek other solutions.
Chalkbeat asked candidates for the school board what DPSCD should do about the small schools.
Of the 19 candidates who filled out the questionnaire, many opposed closing any more schools, with one saying that if a school is expensive to operate but is meeting students’ needs, it should remain open. Other candidates said the district must review how the schools reached this point and consider strategies to keep them open.
In the race for five open seats in the Nov. 3 election — four seats with four-year terms and one seat with a partial two-year term — 34 names will appear on the ballot. Three of them — Natalie Bien-Aime, Henrietta Ivey, and Darious Morris — have said they are no longer running.
Here’s what they said about small schools:
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
