The Olathe Public Schools Board of Education voted 7-0 on October 1, 2026, to close five elementary schools and one middle school at the end of the 2026-27 school year. The affected buildings are Black Bob, Heritage, Scarborough, Tomahawk and Walnut Grove elementary schools, plus Indian Trail Middle School. KCTV5 reported that the plan affects roughly 2,200 students.
Enrollment and operating costs
The district’s school-consolidation page identifies an enrollment peak of 30,000 students in 2020 and projects a decline that eventually levels off just above 25,000. It says Olathe serves approximately the same number of elementary students as in 2001 while operating nine more elementary buildings. District leaders cite declining enrollment and pressure from special education costs as reasons to align buildings with the student population.
Olathe estimates that closing the six buildings will save more than $12 million annually. Its published explanation lists building operations, utilities, technology replacement, maintenance and infrastructure repairs among the savings, together with staffing efficiencies through attrition and retirements. Potential proceeds from selling closed buildings are a separate source of funds for reserves.
Boundaries and staff transitions
The district says community boundary meetings will begin in mid-October and continue through mid-November. Staff and families will review potential attendance maps and provide feedback before district leaders present a final recommendation. The goal is to establish boundaries by January 2027. Some buildings that remain open will also see boundary changes.
Superintendent Brent Yeager told KCTV5 that all district employees would have jobs in the system. Staff preference forms and the district’s early-retirement process will help determine placements and openings. These are reported transition steps, rather than a guarantee that each employee keeps the same assignment.
Parents seek an advisory state review
KCTV5 reported that organizers calling themselves 6,100 Voices began petition-circulator training after the vote. The petition effort seeks a second review of the closure decision through the state process.
Under K.S.A. 72-1431(e), signatures from at least 5 percent of the district’s registered voters, submitted within 45 days of the closure resolution, require the Kansas State Board of Education to conduct an administrative review. Its determination is advisory and can recommend modifying or rescinding the decision. The local board must then reconsider its resolution after a public hearing under subsection (f), but retains authority to approve, modify or rescind it.