GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A decision on whether to build a new elementary school on the northeast side of Grand Rapids could happen as soon as next week.
During a special Grand Rapids Board of Education meeting Monday, officials with the district’s Reimagine GRPS initiative requested board members vote on a proposal which calls for a school be built at the site of Aberdeen Academy during its regular meeting on March 18.
“The education that is provided in 2024 is a lot different than the education was provided more than 90 years ago when that building was built,” said Leon Hendrix, GRPS’ executive director of communications and external affairs. “We want to make sure that we are offering state of the art options for our young people and that’s really what this proposal is all about.”
The planned school would open in the fall of 2027 and house students from Aberdeen and Palmer Elementary School.
READ MORE: GRPS recommends closing 10 schools, click to find out which ones
Last year, the district initially proposed scholars from those buildings attend North Park Montessori, which would undergo renovations and be converted into a neighborhood elementary school before they began classes.
However, families from Aberdeen and Palmer expressed worries about its distance from their neighborhoods.
In February, the GRPS’ leadership team endorsed the idea of a new school at the Aberdeen site.
READ MORE: GRPS recommends adding new school at Aberdeen Elementary
Hendrix says feedback gathered from more than 200 parents and scholars indicates they like the idea of an updated building and appreciate the district listened to their concerns but worry about the price and loss of historical architecture.
“We think when we’re speaking about specific grade grouping in a specific part of town, one elementary school is what we’re talking about and going to be built here, we think a 200 sample size is enough to get a general vibe as to what our community is thinking,” said Hendrix.
According to Hendrix, the planned school would cost $35 million. He says GRPS considered renovations to Aberdeen but decided against it after estimations totaled upwards of $32 million. Funds for the project would come from a bond passed by voters in November 2023.
If approved, it would be the first school built in the northeast quadrant of the district since 1965.
“We’re ready to get to work, we’re ready to break ground, [and] we’re ready to get renovations started,” said Hendrix.
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