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Act Now

Recommended changes for our schools

The School District of Lancaster is recommending changes to its school buildings to address declining enrollment, use available space more effectively and reduce financial pressures. The recommendations include closing Price Elementary, constructing a consolidated elementary school and converting E.R. Martin to a middle school as Wheatland closes.

Act Now outlines recommended changes through the 2029–30 school year. Plan Together focuses on community priorities for longer-term facilities planning.

Plan together

The school changes below are recommendations. Proposed dates and actions remain subject to applicable Board decisions and further planning.

Milestones

January 2027

School board votes on closing Buchanan, Price

The school board is tentatively scheduled to vote January 19, 2027 to close Price Elementary School on Fairview Avenue, which is no longer an operating school building, and Buchanan Elementary School, which was replaced in 2021 by the new Smith-Wade-El Elementary and has served as home for Price students since 2024. With the closures, Price students will be dispersed to nearby elementary schools

Winter 2027

School board initiates sale of real estate

If the closure of Price and Buchanan is approved by the board, the district recommends selling the two properties, along with the Phoenix Academy building on Rockland Street, which has not been in use since the end of the 2025-2026 school year. State law establishes the process by which a school district can sell property.

Spring 2027

Construction beings on new elementary school

A new elementary school is scheduled to be built on the grounds of Hamilton Elementary, which will then be demolished. We’ve been calling the new school “consolidated” because it’s not a replacement for Hamilton. It will serve students from across the western part of the district, including many now zoned for E.R. Martin.

June 2027

Price Elementary permanently closes

Still subject to board approval, the move would have current Price students reassigned to nearby elementary schools for the 2027-2028 school year.

August 2029

New consolidated elementary opens

The current schedule calls for the construction of a new elementary building next to the current Hamilton Elementary to open for the 2029-2030 school year. The school is designed to accommodate about 650 students in Pre-K through grade 5.

August 2029

E.R. Martin transitions to a traditional middle school

Some renovations and upgrades will be necessary to convert the school, which currently serves students in grades Pre-K through eight, to a traditional middle school serving grades 6-8. These upgrades are planned for the summer months leading up to the transition.

Fall 2029

Wheatland Middle School permanently closes after 75 years of operation

As required for Buchanan and Price Elementary Schools, the district must hold a school closure hearing, allow time for public comment, and formally vote to close Wheatland before the 2029-2030 school year. The district will develop specific transition plans for students over the coming months and years.