Olathe Families United, the group fighting against the planned closure of six schools in the Olathe school district, is seeking about 500 more signatures by the end of Tuesday before submitting a petition that would call for a state review.

Under state statute K.S.A. 72-1431, the group needs 5% of registered voters within the school district’s boundaries to sign the petition to force the Kansas State Board of Education to review the closures and make an advisory determination.

“Closing six schools is pretty extreme, especially ones that are anywhere from 70-85% at capacity,” said Walnut Grove parent and co-founder of Olathe Families United Gera Netcher. “That’s going to be very disruptive — essentially anything east of I-35, the boundaries are going to be changed.

“There’s going to be a lot of disruption to our children,” she added. “The community is mad about it.”

Six schools set to close this spring

Last month, Olathe Public Schools approved the closure of six schools at the end of the 2026-27 school year. The district cited declining enrollment, chronic underfunding of special education by the state and rising costs as reasons for the drastic move.

Schools set to close in the spring include:

• Black Bob Elementary,
• Heritage Elementary,
• Scarborough Elementary,
• Tomahawk Elementary,
• Walnut Grove Elementary,
• and Indian Trail Middle.

Community input is vital as the district navigates these changes, spokesperson Erin Schulte said in an email Monday.

“We believe every member of our community has the right to share their perspective, whether by communicating directly, completing feedback forms or signing a petition,” Schulte said. “Community input has been, and will continue to be, important in this process. The passion reflected in the feedback is something we understand because we feel that same level of care and commitment for all of our school communities.

“That is what has made this decision so difficult,” she added.

Aiming for 8,000 signatures

When the Olathe Board of Education approved the closures on Oct. 1, it triggered a 45-day period for Olathe Families United to start collecting signatures under the statute. 

Since then, the petition has earned more than 7,500 signatures. While it only needed about 6,100 signatures to reach the required 5% of the registered voter base, the group is still hoping to collect 500 more by the end of the day Tuesday to hit the 8,000 mark. 

The goal, Netcher said, is to have extra signatures in case some are incomplete or uncertifiable.

After Tuesday, the group plans to review the signatures and then turn the petition into the state for official certification. Once the certification is complete, and assuming the petition meets the requirements, the state board has 45 days to review the closures.

“[This process] definitely has awoken a sleeping giant,” Netcher said. “I feel like now the district is going to be under a very fine microscope moving forward with their decisions. [The petition’s] going to impact the district, whether it’s a positive or a negative to have that community input.

“For everybody that has signed it (the petition), they want their voices to be heard,” she continued. “They’re quite upset with the district right now, unfortunately, with the decisions that were made.”

State board’s review would not be binding

If the petition is certified and after the 45-day review period is up, the state board will release an advisory determination, providing guidance on whether the district’s decision is reasonable “under the totality of circumstances.” That determination could also include recommendations to modify or rescind the measure to close the schools.

However, the district would not be bound by that advisory determination. 

While the exact date the clock might start for the state review is unknown, results could come as early as mid- to late-December.

In the meantime, the district says it is moving forward with a “community-led” process to redraw school zoning boundary lines to account for the six shuttered schools.

Schulte, the district spokesperson, said they hope to have new boundaries drawn by January.

“This timeline allows for a smooth transition to a new school for the 2027-28 school year,” Schulte said. “The district’s boundary process is designed to provide meaningful opportunities for engagement and thoughtful feedback as we work toward establishing school boundaries that preserve our robust opportunities for students while ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

Once the Olathe district has the state board’s advisory determination — even one that decides the district’s initial measure was reasonable — the district will reconsider the measure to close the six schools. The process must follow usual procedures, with a public hearing prior to board reconsideration.

Closures challenged in 3 other Kansas districts

According to the Kansas Department of Education, the statute has been used three times this year — for the closures of Logan Avenue Elementary in Emporia, Wilson Elementary in Wilson and Greeley Elementary in Garnett.

In each of those instances, the state board found the closures to be reasonable.

“We want transparency,” Netcher said. “We want financial responsibility. Then, we want community input — we find that to be extremely important, not only Olathe Families United, but the community itself has relayed that with every signature that we’ve obtained within this window.”