JCPS to quietly close 30 early childhood classrooms; parents, staff still seeking answers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Three-year-old Ellie just started at Gheens Early Childhood Center — but next year, her classroom will be gone.

Her mother, Cheryl Gribbins, learned from WDRB that Gheens is one of 10 schools where JCPS plans to close early childhood classrooms, affecting 30 classrooms districtwide.

"I’m not sure when I would have found out otherwise," Gribbins said. "Probably over the summer, I don’t know."

JCPS confirmed the schools whose early childhood centers will close are: Gheens, Jacob, Stonestreet, Blake, Thomas Jefferson, Wilt, Cochrane, Farmer, Hawthorne and Tully.

Staff members say they only learned about the closures after repeatedly pressing the district for answers, especially when they were told another school, Liberty, would move into their building.

"We were devastated," said Erin Hogan, an instructional assistant at Gheens. "When we ask what’s going to happen with our jobs, we get non-answers or get shut down."

Hogan says employees have been told they can apply to transfer but they still don’t know what happens if they aren’t placed. JCTA told WDRB it’s now working with the district on an agreement outlining how staff will be placed at the new center.

"If I’m going to be unemployed, I have children, I have a family. I need to know. The non-transparency is really sad," Hogan said.

Hogan worries about the impact on students, particularly those with special needs and low income families.

Gribbins says her family won't be hit as hard as others but the unanswered questions swirl in her head, "So now it's all of the uncertainty of where will I be driving and what time can she start," she said.

JCPS officials said the closures are not related to the district’s budget crisis. Instead, they point to a new $20 million early childhood center opening next school year behind Watterson Elementary.

The new building will have 23 classrooms and can serve up to 460 three- and four-year-olds, consolidating programs under one roof. District leaders say all students will have a spot at one of the remaining 18 early childhood locations.

Parents say they simply want clear communication to plan for next year.

"Hopefully they will communicate and get everybody information about their options and placements," Gribbins said.