Kankakee School District 111 is proposing the closure of one of its 10 schools at the end of the 2025-26 school year.

The closure of Thomas Edison Primary School, an almost 70-year-old building, is being proposed in response to district-wide declining enrollment and as a cost-cutting measure, Superintendent Teresa Lance said.

On Monday, the Kankakee School Board unanimously approved a resolution regarding the intent to hold three public hearings for the proposed closure of Edison.

Built in 1956, Edison has a current enrollment of about 185 students in kindergarten through third grades.

“This is not a joyous moment to have this resolution,” Board President Chris Bohlen said. “It’s a painful part of the process of making sure that the school maintains financial stability.”

The first public hearing will be at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 19 at Lincoln Cultural Center. The final two public hearings will be at 5 p.m. Jan. 7 and Jan. 8 at Edison.

Lance said the district has seen declining student enrollment across most of its schools.

District 111’s enrollment has declined from 5,165 students in 2018 to 4,455 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

That is a decline of 710 students, a 13.7% drop.

The schools are also in need of considerable maintenance, with plumbing, roofing, electrical, and mechanical work needed across the district.

“Edison, of all of our elementary schools, needs the most work,” Lance said.

The foundation on one side of the Edison building has been sinking and is beginning to crack on the inside and outside, she said.

Soon, the building won’t be able to be occupied due to safety concerns.

“We’re not going to be able to have students nor staff in that building [within] the next two years,” Lance said.

The estimated cost for the repairs needed at Edison is roughly $4 million.

Pending no issues, the building will be closed for the 2026-2027 school year, Lance said.

District administrators are working on a plan to move Edison students into the other elementary buildings in consultation with the principals.

“We have declining enrollment across the majority of our schools, so that means that right now, we have buildings that are underutilized,” Lance noted.

The public hearings will be held as special board meetings, so a quorum of at least four board members will be in attendance.

The meetings will also include a presentation on what it would take to keep Edison open.

School boundary changes

In November, the board approved a contract with MGT Consulting Group to conduct a comprehensive boundary, enrollment, and capacity study at a cost not to exceed $99,654 from the general education fund.

The study will provide data to evaluate the district’s enrollment patterns, school boundary configurations, and facility use.

The company’s approach includes the use of GIS-based mapping and forecasting.

In February, the company will provide a presentation on the district’s projected enrollment, including a five- to 10-year forecast.

The boundary and capacity study will inform decisions surrounding a possible reconfiguration of the schools students attend.

“That will tell us specifically what can all of our buildings hold, so that we can decide at some point what do we want to be,” Lance said.

For example, students in the future could attend the school in their neighborhood instead of grade centers, which have them changing schools multiple times during their K-12 education.

The study will result in multiple boundary and configuration scenarios.

The scenarios are to include equity considerations, transportation and staffing implications, and community impact summaries.

In addition, the study will give recommended strategies for community engagement and implementation.