Little Rock School Board Votes to Close Three Elementary Schools
The Little Rock School Board has voted to close McDermott, Western Hills and Mabelvale elementary schools as part of a strategy to address financial challenges, including declining enrollment and budget deficits, that have led to a credit rating downgrade.
Little Rock Pine Bluff, AR, October 16, 2026 —
The Little Rock School Board has voted to close three elementary schools: McDermott, Western Hills and Mabelvale. The decision is part of a district strategy to address significant financial challenges, including declining enrollment and budget deficits.
The district’s financial pressures have also led to a credit rating downgrade, according to the information provided about the decision. The summary does not identify the rating agency, the timing or scale of the downgrade, or the financial figures behind the budget deficits.
Details about the vote were not provided, including when it took place, how board members voted and whether the decision was unanimous. The information also does not specify when the schools are expected to close, how students and staff may be affected, or what arrangements may follow for those school communities.
The board’s vote establishes the closures as part of the district’s response to declining enrollment and budget challenges. However, the available information does not describe other steps in the strategy or explain how much the closures are expected to change the district’s finances. No estimates of savings, enrollment figures or projected budget impacts were provided.
With those details unavailable, the scope and timing of the changes remain unclear from the information provided. The confirmed details are the names of the three schools, the board’s vote to close them and the financial challenges cited as the reason for the district’s strategy.
Story summarized from the original created by Jim Ross on arktimes.com, see more information here.
