WESTLAND, Mich. – On Monday night, the Wayne-Westland School Board approved of changing the district's grade configuration.
The school district has lost about 4,000 students, which means significant funding has been lost in the process. Configuring the grades within the schools will help save the district money. How much money will be saved is still unknown.
"It's not any one simple thing," said Wayne-Westland Superintendent Shelley Holt. "It really is a myriad of factors."
There are currently four different groups -- K-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12. The new plan is to just have three groups -- K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. This means about five or six buildings in the district will no longer be needed.
"There will have to be some major changes, but can we say what they'll exactly be right now? No, we can't," said Wayne-Westland School Board President Shawna Walker.
The district now has the task of figuring out what buildings will close and what positions may be eliminated.
The district said it is possible the changes could take effect in 2019, but they more than likely will take effect during the 2020-21 school year.