Some students in the Keokuk district will be moved to different buildings next school year.
The plan approved by the school board will send kindergarten and first grade students to the George Washington School Building, 116 N. Eighth St., and students in second through fifth grade will attend classes at the Hawthorne School Building, 2940 Decatur St.
“We kind of have to work with the resources we have,” said Superintendent Kathy Dinger.
“And currently George Washington, which is our smallest building, houses our largest elementary students, and we have a pretty significant student population that needs some additional assistance with special ed services. And so that building was running out of space for that.”
Students in kindergarten through third grade currently attend classes at Hawthorne, and fourth and fifth grade students go to George Washington.
Dinger said voters have not approved past bond initiatives for new school construction, so the district must reassess its existing spaces.
“I think the board heard that loud and clear and took the feedback,” she said. “And so, this is the direction we're going to try to make to maximize the space we do have for the students we currently serve.”
Last year, the school district purchased two buildings across the street from its Torrence School building, 1721 Fulton St.
Those buildings, at 400 and 420 17th St., will be redeveloped to house the district’s preschool. Dinger said she does not know when the district’s preschool students will be moved there.
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