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ST. LOUIS — It’s an old problem with new leaders trying to solve it: There are too many schools in the city and not enough children to fill them.

The population of St. Louis is expected to decline by 7% in the next decade, including 2,000 fewer school-aged children by 2035, according to a demographic report.

Meanwhile, there are 28,000 students scattered across 100 taxpayer-funded schools in St. Louis. Similar-sized districts like , South Carolina, have one-third as many schools.

With too many buildings, school leaders struggle to find enough certified teachers, counselors, social workers, bus drivers and coaches. Students miss out on foreign language instruction, advanced courses, sports and extracurricular activities. Many schools lack the volunteers to form a parent-teacher organization.

In St. Louis Public Schools, the conversations around school closures officially started this month with staff and community discussions. But the need has been hovering over the district since 2021, when the closure of seven schools did not bring more students or resources to the remaining 62 buildings.

The highly anticipated 2023 Citywide Plan for Education was supposed to include a road map to the ideal number and location of SLPS and charter school buildings. It didn’t include a single map, let alone the directions to get somewhere.

The St. Louis Board of Education originally said school closures would be coming by fall 2025 under former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett, who was fired last year for questionable hiring and spending habits.

Now, the district is hosting meetings called “Reimagining SLPS” to get feedback on a plan to close schools by fall 2026.

“We’re a year late on our promises to the community,” Superintendent Millicent Borishade, who officially replaced Scarlett last month, said to a gathering of about 10 parents Friday at Carr Lane Middle School near downtown.

The 62 campuses in SLPS range from 859 students at Gateway High School to 88 at Carver Elementary. There are 23 schools with fewer than 200 students, not counting special education schools. The average school building is 79 years old and barely half-full.

A 2024 facilities study showed that without closing any schools, the cost of upkeep for the district’s buildings will reach an estimated $1.8 billion in the next 20 years.

A candidate for SLPS school board who attended the meeting Friday said she wants to invest in well-attended schools and address “the financial strain of operating facilities that are no longer viable.”

“In the long term, these decisions can lead to improved educational outcomes, with resources being allocated more efficiently to benefit students, staff and families,” said AJ Foster, who graduated from SLPS in 2016.

Superintendent Borishade plans to hold several more meetings with parents this spring before sending recommendations for closures to the school board. Only one member of the board, Donna Jones, has experienced the decision to close schools. Three seats are on the ballot in the April 8 election.

Two St. Louis charter school systems, which are publicly funded but operate outside of SLPS, will shutter buildings at the end of the year.

Momentum Academy will close its Gravois Park campus, which has 91 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in a former Lutheran school designed for 250.

Momentum’s four schools in south St. Louis have 580 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grades, down from 838 in 2021.

Confluence Academies will close its Aspire campus in North City with 92 students in preschool through second grade.

Confluence projected a $940,000 deficit in the 2025-2026 budget if they kept all five campuses open. By closing Aspire, the budget is estimated to have a surplus of $231,000.

“Rising costs exceeding rise in revenues continues to be a huge financial threat to the organization,” reads a February presentation to the Confluence board, which voted unanimously to close Aspire in the Walnut Park East neighborhood.

Other threats include “risk of enrollment shortfalls due to new immigration policies,” families leaving the city and increased competition from new and existing charter schools, the presentation reads.

SLPS took over sponsorship of Confluence in 2022 when the charter network’s six schools were at risk of closure. At the time, SLPS board members said there could be opportunities to consolidate district and charter schools in the same neighborhoods.

Those opportunities have not materialized. Aspire is less than half a mile from SLPS’ Walbridge Elementary, which has 110 students.

In a letter to SLPS announcing the closure of Aspire, Candice Carter-Oliver, the executive director of Confluence, said she is still looking to collaborate with the district “to address the needs of St. Louis city children and to find sustainable solutions that prioritize student success and the long-term health of our city’s educational landscape.”