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ST. LOUIS — City and school district leaders were alternately blamed for upcoming school closures during a rare meeting Thursday of the education and youth matters committee of the Board of Aldermen.

St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams presented his recommendation to close or consolidate 11 schools to the committee at its first meeting since May.

Alderman Dwinderlin Evans, a retired teacher, decried the possible closures of Farragut and Hickey elementary schools and Sumner High School in the Ville neighborhood.

“I am tired of the city dismantling the fourth ward,� Evans said, addressing Adams. “We’ve got millions of dollars of development that’s coming in this area, and you’re taking my schools, my last three St. Louis public schools.�

The proposal would also close Clay, Dunbar, Ford and Monroe elementary schools; Fanning Middle School; and Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC and Northwest high schools. Carnahan High would be converted to a middle school.

Of the 11 affected schools, seven are in north St. Louis. The plan would displace about 2,000 students, with staff members likely filling vacancies at other schools.

Julia Allen, a lifelong resident of the fourth ward, said the School Board would be “widening the Delmar divide� if they approve the closures.

“If you talk about equity, then you need to reinvest in our schools in north St. Louis,� she said. “It’s always our kids that have to be bused or relocated and it just does not make sense.�

The St. Louis School Board is set to vote Tuesday on Adams’ proposal. Several aldermen said the closure process has been rushed and the vote should be delayed.

The latest round of school closures has been under consideration for years, but the state-appointed school board left the decision to the elected board, which regained control of the district in the summer of 2019. The district hosted six town hall sessions in February and March before the process was postponed by the pandemic.

Adams has said the names of schools recommended for closure were not released before this month so as not to discourage children from attending school, particularly when classes started online in the fall.

Delaying the vote would not change any of the enrollment or population data that led to his proposal, Adams said Thursday.

“I have an elementary school that has 96 students,� he said. “I’m shorting kids by not having all the resources necessary to support all those kids in those environments.�

About 20 of the district’s 68 schools have no full-time counselor, Adams told the committee. One of his goals for consolidation is to free up funding for full-time art and music teachers plus nurses and counselors in every school, he said.

During the public comment session, residents derided the aldermen for what they called historical neglect of the district.

“If you had been paying attention, you would know the answers to the questions you’re asking,� said Emily Hubbard, who lives in Dutchtown and has four children in district schools. “I know that you are not in charge of the school district but with your tax abatements you hurt us, and I need you to be on our side. These are our children, these are all of our children. Can you pay attention, please?�

Several other commenters criticized the board’s approval of property tax incentives for developers that pull money away from the school district. Last year, the city approved $35.8 million in tax increment financing and abatements that would otherwise have gone to SLPS, according to the district.

There are 18,248 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade in the district, down from a peak of more than 115,000 in the late 1960s. An additional 11,400 city students attend charter schools in the city, which are publicly funded but operate separately from the district.

Charter schools can win approval from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education if they have an eligible sponsoring organization. One charter school is set to open in Midtown next fall.

“A key factor in the loss of enrollment is the proliferation of charter schools and the market-based approach to education,� Ben Conover, a resident of the Shaw neighborhood, told the committee.

Alexis Perez Lane, a second grade teacher at Monroe, also criticized city leaders for their “enthusiastic support� of Kairos Academies, a charter school co-founded by Mayor Lyda Krewson’s son Jack that opened in 2019, one block from Monroe in the Marine Villa neighborhood.

The decision to shutter Sumner High has earned the most public consternation. The school dates to 1875 and is considered the first African American high school west of the Mississippi River. Enrollment has dwindled to fewer than 200 students this year.

Closing the school amounts to a “virtual line in the sand,� city Treasurer Tishaura Jones said Wednesday on Twitter. Her father, former comptroller Virvus Jones, agreed that keeping the school open is a “governmental imperative.�

“I don’t care about enrollment, maintenance costs,� Virvus Jones wrote. “Sumner is where in midst of apartheid in the country, black dreams and aspirations were possible.�