Districts around the US are mulling school closures as student enrollment falls

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St. Louis schools face closures due to declining enrollment and budget cuts.

Historic Sumner High School , alma mater of Tina Turner, could be affected.

Tornado damage and decades-long population loss exacerbate challenges.

Students and community members fight to preserve schools and programs.

Thomasina Clarke has watched school after school close in her once thriving St. Louis neighborhood, which was hit by a tornado this spring and whose population has plummeted in recent decades.

“It’s like a hole in the community,” Clarke said. She fears a new round of closure discussions could strip the historically Black community of a storm-damaged high school, whose alumni include Tina Turner and Chuck Berry.

St. Louis Public Schools is among the districts nationwide wei