Ogden school officials to propose James Madison Elementary closure
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- James Madison Elementary in Ogden is pictured Nov. 30, 2021.
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- The exterior of James Madison Elementary in Ogden, photographed Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. School district officials are mulling the future of some of Ogden’s older facilities, including Hillcrest, Bonneville and James Madison elementary schools.
OGDEN — As has been hinted, Ogden school officials will recommend closure of James Madison Elementary at the end of the 2022-2023 school year as part of a proposed revamp of district school boundaries to be unveiled next month.
The aging state of the building, first built in 1941, and space at other newer elementary schools figure in the proposal, revealed by Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen at Thursday’s school board meeting. Board members will have final say and they are expected to take action on that proposal and new district boundaries for the 2023-2024 school year on Feb. 16.
If officials OK the closure of James Madison, located in east-central Ogden at 2563 Monroe Blvd., it would be the third closure since 2019 of a school in the Ogden School District, which has been experiencing declining enrollment as Weber County growth booms in the more western expanses of the county. Gramercy Elementary at 1270 Gramercy Ave. closed at the end of the 2018-2019 school year and Taylor Canyon Elementary at 2130 Taylor Ave. closed after the 2021-2022 school year.
School officials have also hinted at the possibility of eventually closing Bonneville Elementary at 490 Gramercy Ave. in conjunction with the proposed rebuild of Hillcrest Elementary. No formal proposal to close Bonneville, however, has been put forward, though the Hillcrest rebuild figures in the district’s looming plans.
More details are to come out on Feb. 2, when school officials and reps from the district’s consultant, Davis Demographics, formally unveil the proposal to close James Madison and new school boundary plans to accommodate the change.
Closing James Madison will undoubtedly figure big in the new school boundary proposals. “We have a scenario that will equitably distribute (James Madison) students to surrounding schools, including Polk, New Bridge, Odyssey and Liberty,” Rasmussen said.
But other population change and shifts will also likely figure.
School officials approved new boundaries a year ago for the 2022-2023 school year, timed with the completion of a spate of school projects, including the rebuild of Polk Elementary and completion of Liberty Elementary, a new school that replaced T.O. Smith Elementary. Now they’d change yet again for the 2023-2024 school year if school officials OK the proposed shifts.
The proposed boundaries will be available online on the school district website once they’re unveiled and will be the focus of planned open houses on Feb. 8 and 9 at Bonneville and New Bridge schools. “There’ll be a lot of opportunity for the public to see and provide feedback,” Rasmussen said.
According to a Davis Demographics study for the school district released in late 2021, district enrollment is expected to steadily decline through 2031 to around 9,056. Utah Board of Education figures bear out the trend — the district had an enrollment of 11,553 for the 2018-2019 school year and that fell to 10,246 for the current school year, an 11.3% dip.
Enrollment at James Madison Elementary dipped from 446 in the 2018-2019 school year to 310 for the current year, according to the state numbers.
Rasmussen said district leaders have been in contact with James Madison officials about the closure proposal. “That’s hard news to hear. But they are rallying and doing a good job of committing to finish strong,” Rasmussen said.
The Midtown Community Health Center operates a clinic at James Madison and Rasmussen said that facility would be able to stay put. Longer-term plans with the James Madison site, though, would come later, only after Ogden school board members act and the school actually closes.
As part of the Hillcrest rebuild, expected to cost around $43 million, students from that school would shift to Bonneville during construction. Bonneville has sufficient space to accommodate the influx, according to Rasmussen, though parents wanting to send their kids to Lincoln Elementary instead would be able to do that as well.
The rebuild of Hillcrest would start this fall and the new school would be ready for the 2025-2026 school year. A decision on the future of Bonneville would likely come after the rebuild is complete, Rasmussen said.
While Ogden School District enrollment heads down, enrollment in the Weber School District is rising. In the 2018-2019 school year, the Weber district had 32,171 students and that figure has edged up to 32,557 for the current school year. A new high school, junior high and elementary school are taking shape in western Weber County to accommodate growth.