Hite: School-closure changes are on the way

SCHOOL DISTRICT Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said Tuesday that he plans to release revisions to the district's controversial school-closure proposal "sometime next week" before the Feb. 21 School Reform Commission meeting.

Hite said the changes are in response to his contact with the public.

"We have heard about quality programs, travel time and supporting students with special needs," Hite said during a hearing with City Council's Education Committee. "We have listened and are continuing to listen. The initial recommendations were proposals, not foregone conclusions in every case."

Underlining the emotion the plan has elicited, a spectator stood as Hite made that comment and yelled, "Y'all are killing our legacies!"

The school closings are expected to affect 17,000 students, many of whom are living in public housing. Nearly 80 percent are black.

Jannie Blackwell, committee chairwoman, supports a one-year moratorium on school closings.

"We're willing to listen to that, but it's got to make sense," she said during a break in the hearing. She cited troubling anecdotes about some schools slated for closure, such as Paul Robeson High School, which recently received $1 million to upgrade its heating system.

"The plan now doesn't make common sense," Blackwell said.