Holding signs in English and Spanish, children and parents from Powell Elementary School Tuesday made silent pleas of Board of Education members not to close their school under a multi-billion plan proposed by Superintendent Clifford Janey.

With the average age of its schools at 63 years, the highly anticipated final $2.3 billion Master Facilities Plan to overhaul the District’s aging public schools calls for the construction of 23 new schools and renovations for 101 existing facilities by 2021. It also seeks to free up more than three million square feet of space through consolidations and closures.

Recommended Stories

Another man dies in hit-and-run on Forestville road

Steve Eldridge: Metro extension has long been planned, but it’s uncertain

D.C. mayor’s visit to troubled detention facility canceled