USD 259 not planning for comprehensive school closures in 2025-26

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Wichita School District (USD 259) said there are no comprehensive school closures planned for the next two fiscal years, 2025-26.

The school district is anticipating about $9.7 million in special education funding, leaving the budget deficit after all previous cuts just short of $6 million.

The original shortfall was about $42 million, with a large chunk of that eliminated by closing six schools.

The district plans to use cash reserves to get the deficit to zero for the fiscal year 2025.

Wichita Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Susan Willis said she feels “pretty good” about the approximate $6 million left to trim from the budget. She said the district can cover that with one-time funds.

“I feel pretty good about that number because we were thinking we would have to be closer to 10 to 12 to finish the year, so the special ed money made a huge difference in this number,” Willis said.

Wichita Public Schools Board of Education President Stan Reeser said having a budget-balancing plan has the board feeling like it is “finally able to take a breath.”

“And basically start planning for what our students need in our student outcomes,” Reeser said.

Addressing a key takeaway that the district isn’t planning any further school closures through 2026, Reeser said he wants to keep it that way.

“We’re going to have to basically plan for the future so that every three or four years, we don’t have to announce which next schools are on the chopping block,” he said.

This means that the school district and the school board must continue their work to keep the budget in check.

“There will always be future challenges, and so we’ll address those and hopefully address those positively for our students and our staff,” Reeser said.