The Cedar Rapids school board voted to shut down five elementary schools and one early learning center as part of its new intermediate schooling model. It also voted to reconfigure three schools into intermediate schools serving fifth and sixth grade students.
The schools that will close in the 2027-2028 school year are Cleveland Elementary, Grant Elementary, Cedar River Academy, Nixon Elementary, Wright Elementary and the Truman Early Learning Center.
Viola Gibson Elementary, Roosevelt Middle School and Franklin Middle School will become intermediate schools.
By consolidating, the Cedar Rapids Community School District will save over $5 million in operational and staffing costs annually, which will provide a cushion against its growing deficit. District officials had anticipated a $12 million shortfall in next year’s budget.
The board’s vote followed a recommendation from the Strategic Planning Executive Committee, a 23-member task force of community members, district representatives and one school board director.
“We have moved with intentionality, step by step, from budget reductions to school consolidations to attendance boundary adjustments to ensure we are making the best decisions possible,” said Superintendent Tawana Lannin. “While there is no perfect solution, we are responsible for making the best decision with the data, resources and facilities that we have today.”
The board voted on two resolutions. The first identified the schools that would be closed, the designation and grade levels of each school in the district, and the area’s feeder patterns. That resolution passed 6-1. Board Director Laura Zimmerman was the lone dissenting vote.
The second was a resolution to approve the redrawn school boundaries and reassign students to schools based on where they live. It passed unanimously.
The vote was a pivotal moment for the district after a months-long effort to restructure for current and expected enrollment. In November, voters rejected a $117 million bond that would have financed renovations at three middle schools and one high school.
“Tonight, we take a historic step toward right-sizing our district to match our current enrollment reality by reconfiguring our grades and establishing a true feeder pattern, a goal that has eluded this district for decades,” said Board President Jennifer Neumann. “We are creating a sustainable and equitable educational experience for every child we serve tonight.”
The district has emphasized the need for a structure that allows students to remain with the same cohort of classmates from elementary school through high school. That was a key deciding factor for the planning committee in making its final recommendation to the board.
“We did not arrive at our recommendation quickly or easily,” the committee's recommendation states. “We examined multiple scenarios, considered partial and phased approaches and stress-tested our thinking against the data.”
As part of its restructuring, the district approved nearly $13 million in budget cuts in January to shift consultant work in-house and use existing resources more effectively. Those cuts also included salary freezes for administrators and a reduction in positions.
Between the 2024-205 and 2025-206 school years, nearly 600 students left the district, with many of those families electing to attend nearby private and charter schools.
“Our enrollment loss last year really caught us off guard and had a significant impact on the district and our current situation,” said Board Director Kaitlin Byers, who raised a question about whether future enrollment drops would put the district in a similar precarious position.
“Enrollment drops are always going to be an issue for the district,” said Chief Financial Officer Karla Hogan, who is retiring in January. “Whether we have the new consolidation model or don’t, we have to continually assess our enrollment.”
One study by outside consultant RSP & Associates looking into the new boundary lines approved by the board suggests the district’s enrollment may decrease by 642 students by the 2030-2031 school year.
A summary of the meeting and statement from the superintendent can be found here.
