Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.), 1/22
National studies show school closings often don't save much money or improve student performance
By Kathleen Megan
Hartford (Conn.) Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez says her controversial plan to consolidate schools will save money and improve education, but national studies show that closing schools often doesn't achieve either goal. Torres-Rodriguez's plan, which will be voted on Tuesday night by the school board, calls for closing Batchelder and Simpson-Waverly elementary schools in June, as well as 10 other school buildings over the next three years, for an eventual annual savings of $15 million. Tom Pedroni, an associate professor in the College of Education at Wayne State University, said that mounting evidence shows that closing schools has "a very negative effect on surrounding cities, so it basically blights the neighborhood and it increases the desire to leave the neighborhood." He said that in Detroit a massive school closing plan has driven many students out of the district and resulted in worse student performance than when it began.