Westwood View targeted for closure in new Shawnee Mission committee report

One of the the Shawnee Mission district’s top performing and most beloved elementary schools could close if Superintendent Gene Johnson pursues the recommendations of a strategic planning committee report submitted to his office.

The committee, made up of 30 district administrators, teachers, principals, parents, students and staff, recommended that Westwood View Elementary be closed and its student body merged with Highlands Elementary, which has a new building.

Westwood View is one of the smallest elementary schools in the district, but is viewed by many in the Fairway, Westwood and Mission Woods area as a fixture of the neighborhood. In 2011, it was the only school in the Shawnee Mission district to receive the Kansas Governor’s Award recognizing top performing schools.

The committee also recommended that either John Diemer Elementary be closed and its student body merged with Trailwood Elementary, which will have a new building constructed on its current site. East Antioch and Santa Fe Trail Elementaries were also identified as candidates for a merger, though the report did not name a school that should be closed.

The committee met to produce its report between January and March. Johnson will now decide whether to forward the recommendations of the report to the school board for consideration.