Proposal would shutter 5 schools

Reorganization could save $13m

School Superintendent Carol R. Johnson unveiled a long-awaited reorganization plan last night that would shut down five elementary school buildings and lead to the reshuffling of many other locations and programs, as the district copes with tight finances and new academic priorities.

The plan calls for closing Hamilton Elementary in Brighton, Stone Elementary and Shaw Elementary in Dorchester, Elihu Greenwood Elementary in Hyde Park, and Higginson Elementary in Roxbury.

Several other elementary schools would be consolidated, with some losing their names, as the district seeks to expand popular schools and create new options. For instance, the Garfield Elementary School in Brighton would be taken over by the nearby Mary K. Lyons K-8 school so it could add a high school program. Students from Garfield would then join students from Hamilton as part of a new K-8 school in the Edison Middle School building.

The district's movement toward smaller high schools, which began about five years ago, would also take a hit. The Dorchester Education Complex, which technically houses three autonomous high schools, would shut down the Noonan Business Academy and the Public Service Academy so the popular Tech Boston Academy can add a middle school program and start another yet-to-be identified program.

The South Boston Education Complex would also phase out Odyssey Academy, leaving just two autonomous high schools on that campus.

If approved by the School Committee, the plan would begin to be phased in next fall.

"The need to change is not a rejection of the current system or past results, but the realities we face in the 21st century," Johnson told the School Committee last night. "Doing more of the same harder is not the solution."

In all, the proposal would expand or create nine new kindergarten through eighth-grade programs and sixth-though-12th-grade schools. It also would open three new pilot schools and expand three others. It also calls for opening a Young Men's Public Service Academy, a Young Women's Leadership Academy, a truancy center, and a Newcomers Academy for students new to the district.

The plan is in response to a City Hall edict to cut millions of dollars in spending as the district faces escalating costs of salaries, health insurance, transportation, and food. At the same time, state and federal aid has failed to keep pace with inflation.

Over the past year, City Hall has given the School Department two allotments of about $10 million each to balance this year's and last year's budget.

School officials estimated that Johnson's plan should reduce operating costs by $13.8 million over five years, including nearly $5 million in transportation spending because more students would go to schools within walking distance of their homes.

School Committee members, who are scheduled to vote on the changes on Oct. 29, offered encouraging words during the meeting. Afterward, chairwoman Elizabeth Reilinger called the proposal "strategic, innovative, and bold."

"This is really a commitment to increasing academic excellence and access in spite of economic challenges and builds on what we have learned of our successes and our not-so-much successes," Reilinger said.

Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union, said that he was still reviewing the proposal, but wondered how all the changes could be made.

"I have a sense it may be too ambitious and may be a little too drastic," Stutman said. "Having said that, we will go through public vetting process and see what the school community and the public have to say."

The reorganization would be the largest since the 2002-03 school year when then-Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant and the School Committee decided to close six elementary and middle schools.

Decisions were based on such factors as academic performance, popularity of schools among parents, and building conditions. Enrollment in the 56,000-student district has declined 7 percent over the past five years, leaving nearly 8,000 empty seats in grades kindergarten through eight.

One staff member at the Dorchester High complex expressed dismay about the changes yesterday afternoon, saying the shuttering of the business and public academies could prompt students to drop out because similar programs do not exist.

"It's a very slippery slope," said the employee, who asked not to be named, fearing he might lose his job. "We will do the professional thing to keep their hopes up, but I've got some kids who have been marginal and we could lose them because of this. Someone needs to take care of these kids."

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.