DeKalb Schools’ proposed redistricting and consolidation proposals will save $150 million to $161 million over the next 10 years, school system officials said.

The results of the cost/savings analysis released Jan. 28 estimate that the centralized plan will save the school district approximately $150 million over the next decade, while the decentralized plan will save about $161 million over the same period.

On an annual basis, the centralized plan would save some $15 million each year, while the decentralized plan would save around $16 million.

It said the savings will come from increased operational efficiencies as well as projected annual increases in the capital facilities funding allowance from the state Department of Education.

The redistricting and consolidation proposals, presented to the DeKalb School Board on Jan. 3, call for 14 schools – 12 elementary, one middle and one high school ­– to close countywide by the start of the 2011-2012 school year to compensate for shifting demographics and declining enrollment.

Consultants say the school closures will help the school district access maximum state funding for its schools.

The proposal will consolidate schools, dramatically change attendance lines, and reassign students to schools with enrollment above 450 students. The goal of the proposal is to eliminate 11,000 empty seats throughout the school district and eliminate small schools.

The district says its schools need to have more than 450 students to get maximum funding from the state.

The proposal also calls for merging and centralizing the district’s high achievers magnet schools and programs that serve 1,605 students countywide.

Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson is scheduled to make a final recommendation to the Board of Education on Feb. 7.

The Board of Education will hold public hearings into the recommendations on March 1 and March 3. It is scheduled to vote on the redistricting and consolidation plan on March 7.