A Painful Goodbye: Fort Wayne Community Schools to Close South Wayne Elementary

Fort Wayne Community Schools has made the difficult announcement that it will permanently close a historic neighborhood school at the end of this academic year.

South Wayne Elementary School, an institution that has served families on Cottage Avenue for more than a century, is now a casualty of mounting financial pressures.

District officials pointed to two primary factors behind the decision: the prohibitive cost of repairing the aging facility and significant revenue losses.

The district faces a staggering $11 million shortfall directly linked to Indiana's new property tax reform law, forcing deep cuts across its $419 million budget.

In a statement, the district acknowledged the emotional toll, saying, “Closing a school is never an easy decision.”

The closure will affect approximately 340 students from pre-K through fifth grade.

FWCS has developed a student redistricting plan to manage the transition.

Most students from South Wayne will be reassigned to either Abbett Elementary School or Fairfield Elementary School for the upcoming school year.

To prevent overcrowding, Abbett Elementary's boundaries are also being redrawn, with some areas shifting to Levan Scott Academy.

This is a deeply unsettling transition for many families, and officials have promised to meet with them over the next few weeks to ease the process.

The district’s human resources department is also working closely with South Wayne staff to secure new positions for them within the district.

While the school is closing, the building won't be entirely abandoned.

The oldest section is scheduled for demolition, but the remaining structure will be renovated.

It will become an education services center, housing special education programs and other vital district services.

This move is part of a broader, and often painful, effort by FWCS to operate more efficiently amid reduced state funding.