BHAS presented a plan at Monday's special meeting to keep Benton Harbor High School open

BENTON HARBOR, Mich – The Benton Harbor Area Schools school board presented their plan before a special meeting held on Monday evening. 

The special meeting called at the Central Administration building comes four days before the state imposed deadline for the Benton Harbor school district to propose a viable plan. 

The plan proposed by the school board is the “third option” to the two option plan the state of Michigan presented last month which included closing Benton Harbor High School and focusing on K-8 or completely dissolving the district. 

According to the school board the plan would keep Benton Harbor High School open and strengthen the K-12 district. 

The plan includes addressing the over $16-million-dollar debt the school district holds with the help of the state along with a request to the Michigan Department of Education to designate the area a critical shortage area.  

The critical shortage area designation would allow the school district to recruit from a retired teacher and administration pool. 

The school board is also calling for the collaboration between the state and other federal agencies. 

The school board was invited and will attend a meeting with state officials in Lansing on Wednesday.