To be closed? Probably not. Photo by Mr. T in DC

A list that made the rounds on local listservs yesterday seemed to claim that D.C. would soon shutter 38 schools, but D.C. Public Schools officials say that the list isn’t theirs, nor is it accurate.

“We have no idea where this list came from, but it’s not from DCPS. We look forward to announcing our proposed consolidations soon,” said Melissa Salmanowitz, a spokeswoman for D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson.

The list seemed unbelievable from the get-go: included among the 38 schools allegedly targeted for closure were a number that had recently been fully modernized (H.D. Woodson and Anacostia) and even one that’s currently undergoing a massive $77 million modernization (Cardozo).

Additionally, the purported closures would affect wards 7 and 8 most heavily: 26 of the 38 schools to be closed would be east of the river. Finally, some of the schools listed didn’t meet the criteria Henderson said would be used to judge whether a school should remain open or not—those with fewer than 300 students could well be closed, while a number of schools on the list have enrollment numbers above that.

Henderson told us in late August that she would announce a round of proposed closures in November or December. There are currently 123 public schools in D.C., and the last round of closures came when Michelle Rhee shuttered 23 schools in 2008.

While enrollment at D.C. public schools has dropped over the years, in 2011 D.C. officials said that the system posted its first year of growth in almost four decades. Still, enrollment in charter schools is growing much more aggressively—recent enrollment figures showed charter schools growing by 11 percent, while DCPS managed a one percent expansion.

2012 Proposed DCPS Closings