Some Benton Harbor Area Schools officials were taken by surprise Friday by news that the State Department of Treasury may close its high school in response to continuing debt and student readiness problems.
At a sparsely attended special meeting the district’s Superintendent Robert Herrera said he knew nothing about the plan that wasn’t in the press releases.
Herrera says further information will come from the State Department of Treasury and added that the school board will also weigh in on the issue.
“I’m certain that the Board of Education deliberating on this and discussing this in the very near future and I would anticipate them providing you with releases and information on the decisions or potential decisions that they’ll make here in the next couple of weeks.”
Benton Harbor Area Schools have been under a partnership agreement with the state Board of Education since 2017.
The district is more than 16 million dollars in debt and less than 3 percent of its third graders could read at grade-level, none of its 11th graders have been considered college-ready in the last five years.
The plan proposed by the treasury would dissolve the high school and alternative high school starting in the 2020-2021 school year. Those students would either go to one of the other high schools in the county or go into a career and technical education program at Lake Michigan College.
The plan requires approval from the school board.
