The Park Hill School District is working toward the closure of its Gerner House, with an update on the process presented at last week’s Park Hill Board of Education meeting.
Gerner House is home to the district’s clothing center, which was notified in late 2025 of the upcoming demolition of the retrofitted private home due to maintenance concerns about the aging structure and ADA compliance issues.
At the Thursday, June 11 meeting of the board of education, Dr. Marcus Fryatt, chief operations officer, updated the board on the timeline for the closure. The facility is also home to the Park Hill special education department’s life skills lab, and efforts are being made to relocate both programs within the district. Tentative plans for the life skills programs are dispersion of the life skills labs into the high schools and middle schools.
The district PTA has created a committee to help with relocation of the clothing center, with its work expected to last until this time next year. In 2028, the programs will transition to new locations and sometime in late 2028 to early 2029 the house will be demolished.
Also at the meeting, the board approved student meal price increases for the coming year. At the elementary level, breakfast prices will increase from $1.75 to $1.90 and lunch prices from $2.95 to $3.10. At the secondary level, breakfast prices will increase from $1.95 to $2.10 and lunch prices from $3.25 to $3.45.
District officials say that food, supply, and labor costs continue to rise nationwide, placing ongoing pressure on school meal programs. Since 2022, the district has taken a careful, minimal approach to meal price changes; however, continued cost increases now require an adjustment to keep the program financially sustainable. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals will not be affected, and families are encouraged to apply for school meal benefits if eligible.