Closures or consolidations of Scranton schools should be on hold indefinitely as the district sees a surge in special education students, the superintendent recommended.
Lackawanna County’s largest school district has contemplated closures since it entered the state’s financial recovery program in 2019 and a study showed city schools had too many empty desks.
School closure plans for Scranton
Over the last six years, proposals have ranged from combining high schools to closing several neighborhood elementary schools in favor of one larger building. Scranton has 10 elementary, three intermediate and two high schools.
The district left recovery in 2023, and work by a committee called the Building Utilization Task Force — comprised of taxpayers, parents and others — met through that year.
When Erin Keating became superintendent last year, she began looking at options and needs. During a committee meeting last week, she recommended an indefinite pause.
Overall enrollment, expected to be 9,300 for the fall, has held steady and is higher than projected. A 2023 study by McKissick Associates of Harrisburg projected enrollment to be 8,800 students this year, Keating said during the meeting, available on YouTube.
Increase in special education enrollment
Classroom space, once expected to be consolidated, is now used by students in autistic support classrooms. In 2020, Scranton had 26 full-time autistic support classrooms throughout the district. For this fall, the district projects 43 classrooms will be dedicated to educating students with autism, Keating said.
Scranton must take time to see if the surge is an anomaly or a trend, she said. About 25% of the students in the district receive special education services, according to state data. A decade ago, 18% of students qualified.
“If it’s a trend, then we need to begin making plans in a direction to support those needs,” Keating said.
The number of students transitioning from early intervention programs into the district has also surged, Keating said. Typically, the district would have between 60 and 90 students enter the district. Last year, more than 140 students enrolled after receiving support from Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit, which offers programs for children from birth to school-age.
The district also needs space for reintroducing preschool programs, which began earlier this year, Keating said. State and federal guidelines require special education classrooms to have at least 28 square feet of space per student, and 35 square feet of space per preschool student.
School Director Sean McAndrew, chair of the school board’s operations committee, said he supports the pause on any closures.
“I think it's a great decision by Superintendent Keating to make sure we're not rushing to decisions where we would close the school and then a year later we would need to reopen it,” McAndrew said Monday.
