Phineas Davis Elementary School's future will be determined next week when the York City school board votes on whether to close it.

During a committee meeting Monday, the board reached a general consensus to hold the vote during its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Earlier this month, district officials revealed to parents a proposal to close the 80-year-old school after determining that renovating it would not be cost-effective. The board is also taking into consideration that Davis is located in Spring Garden Township, not the city.

The district has held town hall meetings to inform the public of its renovation and realignment plans, said board president Jeanette Torres.

Other votes: The nine-member board also will vote on whether to go ahead with
proposals to establish the Roosevelt School building -- currently an office space at 200 N. Albemarle St. -- as an early learning center for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students.

The board will decide whether to submit project accounting, design and construction plans to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which also would have to approve the closure of Davis.

Board members will vote on proposals to move all fifth-graders from the elementary schools to Edgar Fahs Smith and Hannah Penn middle schools and to use parts of the middle schools' buildings as an intermediate school for fifth- and sixth-grade students and other parts for seventh- and eighth-grade students.

If

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the board votes to close Davis, the district has plans to move the school's students to Goode Elementary, while some of the Goode students would move to Ferguson Elementary. Davis and Goode pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students would be moved to the renovated Roosevelt building.

Costs: The board began considering the closure after determining that renovating Davis would cost the district at least $5 million, because the state would only reimburse about $4.3 million of the $9 million cost.

The district already has plans to renovate Jackson and McKinley elementary schools, as both qualify for higher reimbursements that could potentially keep each project's cost below $2 million.

The Roosevelt project would cost about $3.2 million. However, the district could qualify for a $1.5 million state reimbursement.

The opening of the $24 million Ferguson Elementary School, which has been expanded by 350 students to a 750-student capacity, gives the district flexibility to close Davis, officials have said.

If Davis is closed by the next school year, it would save the district about $300,000 a year in overhead and staff costs. Most of the staff would be moved elsewhere in the district.

-- Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.