4 vacant Flint schools could be demolished in proposed $8.8M spending item

FLINT, Mich. – Flint Community Schools’ (FCS) efforts to remove blighted buildings and direct money back into the classroom could be bolstered by about $8.8 million in state funding under a new legislative spending request.

Rep. Cynthia Neeley, D-Flint, filed the request April 30 as a legislatively directed spending item, with Flint Community Schools as the recipient.

The funding would pay for the demolition of four former FCS school buildings: 

• Stewart Elementary School
• Anderson Elementary School
• Northern High School
• McKinley Middle School

Both residents and district officials have said the buildings also attract vandalism, trespassing and squatting while posing fire and injury hazards, the request states.

“You can’t just demo buildings,” Flint Community Schools’ Superintendent Kevelin Jones, told Flint Beat in a May 2025 interview. “It’s costly and a process…We’re constantly…closing up…doors and buildings are getting vandalized every day…We don’t have the manpower, but we’re continuing to try to do it every week.”

The buildings, constructed between 1929 and 1965, have stood vacant for at least 13 years, according to Neeley’s request. The properties take up a cumulative 468,896 square feet of unused space, and still require maintenance and security paid for by the district.

“Every dollar that is spent by the school district on these vacant buildings that no longer serve the students is a dollar that could be going into the classroom, educating students,” Neeley wrote in the request. “The district has made difficult fiscal decisions to protect classroom learning. But the district’s funds—intended for educating children—cannot continue absorbing the cost of maintaining these vacant buildings.”

If approved, Neeley predicts the demolition could be completed by 2027.

Representatives from the school district could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The proposed demolitions come as FCS pursues broader efforts to address aging infrastructure across the district.

The demolition process for the Flint Central High School and Whittier Classical Academy campuses, on Crapo Street, adjacent to the Flint Cultural Center, started this year. Officials say demolition and design work are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The entire campus will be demolished except for the tower, school officials said. Demolition preparation and abatement work is scheduled to begin in early May, with the main demolition phase set to begin in July 2026. 

The revitalization project is supported by a $5.3 million grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, awarded to the district in December.