Shutting
Doors,
Opening
Dialogue:
School closure guidance and best practices for LEAs
by Heather Kemp
tudents file out of classrooms after the final bell rings. It’s the end of the day and they shuffle to their parents’ cars or the school bus to catch a ride home or to an extracurricular activity or job. Others make their way off campus alone or with friends or siblings to their next destination.
Shutting
Doors,
Opening
Dialogue:
tudents file out of classrooms after the final bell rings. It’s the end of the day and they shuffle to their parents’ cars or the school bus to catch a ride home or to an extracurricular activity or job. Others make their way off campus alone or with friends or siblings to their next destination.
For school board members up and down the state, scenarios in which permanent school closures need to be weighed are becoming increasingly common due to factors like declining enrollment and/or fiscal constraints.
The decision to halt operations at a school site is a difficult one often surrounded by months of contention within communities. School closures can cause educational disruptions and emotional distress among students and impact staff morale. Too often they disproportionately affect students of color, particularly Black students.
The processes local educational agencies follow leading up to and after that final bell to support effected students, families and staff, however, can make a world of difference.
tatewide guidance from the Attorney General, resources on centering equity during closures and lived experiences from LEA leaders can help guide districts considering closures of their own.
AG guidance
Assembly Bill 1912, enacted in 2022, requires “financially distressed” districts to take part in community engagement efforts before closing a school and to perform an equity impact assessment prior to a closure merger or consolidation. Districts must also inform the public of the metrics or criteria being proposed for closure decisions and allow for input. AB 1912 and other relevant laws are detailed in the guidance.
“With strategic planning, transparent and inclusive community engagement, and a focus on addressing California’s history of unequal education, our school districts can avoid repeating the harms of the past to build better, more equitable educational opportunities for all students,” Bonta said.
According to the brief, enrollment in California’s public schools fell 6 percent between 2007 and 2022 with more declines anticipated in the next decade. The latest state data showed 5.85 million public school students enrolled in 2022–23.
Whether due to falling birth rates, families moving out of state or from high- to lower-cost areas in-state, shifting immigration patterns or students switching to charter, private or home school programs, LEAs are feeling the shifts as district funding is primarily based on rates of average daily attendance.
In recent years, higher rates of funding from the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and Propositions 30 and 55, which fund schools through increased sales and income taxes, along with pandemic relief dollars and state hold-harmless provisions that were put in place during the public health crisis, have helped some LEAs put off making tough financial decisions.
And while talks of school closures are ramping up, in the last decade, between 50 to 80 California school sites have closed annually, according to the report.
Common and emerging rationales for closures include improving educational opportunities and quality and achieving fiscal sustainability. When the process is intentional, there are examples of school closures that have resulted in long-term academic gains, noted Carrie Hahnel, a senior policy and research fellow at PACE and senior associate partner for policy and evaluation at Bellwether, during an October event on the topic.
On the rationale behind closing a school to achieve fiscal sustainability, Hahnel said LEAs typically look at how much space is being used on site and the number of seats filled of those available.
“Based on those utilization metrics, they can identify school sites that are underutilized or under-enrolled and identify those as potential sites for closure. The evidence suggests that closing those school sites comes with an initial cost, but a potential long-term gain,” Hahnel said. “We find that displacing students and moving them comes with a cost of actually relocating students and potentially retraining staff, but it can also have significant cost savings if it’s paired with the layoff process.”
Reducing staff and closing sites at the same time can be challenging politically, Hahnel said, but that is “where the savings can be realized.” The report outlines recommendations that local leaders can consider when evaluating a closure, including:
- Establishing and executing an inclusive and transparent process that engages a wide range of stakeholders;
- Implementing a strategy to provide displaced students as well as the broader community with accessible, high-quality educational opportunities; and
- Developing and pursuing a long-term plan to address factors (like housing affordability, gentrification and economic disinvestment) contributing to racial disproportionality in school closures.
Providing high-quality educational opportunities to displaced students can include steps such as reserving seats in high-quality schools; providing accessible, safe routes to schools; rethinking attendance zones and revising school-assignment policies; incentivizing effective teachers to work at schools receiving displaced students; and giving schools ample resources to support students. Some LEAs have successfully brought new opportunities into their communities through the repurposing of school buildings post-closure.
“There was a school site in East San Jose that became an early childhood center. By partnering with Head Start, they were able to bring revenues into the district that allowed that facility to stay open and continue to add value to the community,” Hahnel explained. “We talked with some school districts in Southern California that were thinking about community schools funding, whether that could be something that they used to provide wraparound services in those facilities so that even if they weren’t serving a traditional instructional purpose, they were still adding value to the community.”
Lessons from LEAs
According to a district report, the combination of declining enrollment, increasing costs associated with the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) and Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and “step and column cost increases and surges to the consumer price index for non-salary items,” put a strain on the LEA’s operating budget. One-time grant monies temporarily relieved fiscal pressures but were not a long-term fix.
“The swing between revenue limit and basic aid status of CUSD causes uncertainty in the district’s budget forecast,” the report stated. “The shift into basic aid requires an increase in our reserve above our current 6 percent reserve that is comprised of the 3 percent state mandated reserve and the additional 3 percent board-directed reserve.”
Recognizing the sensitivity of the issue and the impending impact on families and employees, the board convened a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) leading up to the 2021 vote, comprising 33 individuals from diverse backgrounds including representatives from schools, classified and certificated employees, and members of the general public to draft materials to help inform the board’s decision making.
The CAC developed criteria that the board could consider in making decisions around closing. The ranking criteria included: (1) impact on the community; (2) viability of school for repurposing; (3) socioeconomic impact; (4) current enrollment of the school site; (5) transportation considerations; (6) population trends and quadrant balance; (7) transportation equity; (8) equity for alternative schools; (9) voter support of potential future ballot measures; (10) equitable locations of middle school; and (11) high school feeder patterns.
District staff, school administrators and staff and families from closing and receiving schools were recruited for transition teams that discussed “logistical items such as best practices for packing and moving, to emotional support for staff, families and students, to celebrations to end the school year, to what events and communication was needed during the summer months, and how to best welcome all students, staff and families to their new schools in the fall,” Lindsey said.
Additionally, teachers and classified staff from schools that were closing/consolidating received priority in choosing their next work location based on availability.
When the 2022–23 academic year kicked off, resources and funds were allocated toward fostering a strong sense of belonging for all students, families and staff. Some initiatives included monthly well-being challenges for staff, start- and end-of-the-year gatherings for staff, a spirit store, and attention to social-emotional learning and resources for students.
Efforts have proven successful thus far and are ongoing. “Seeing students return to their new schools with bright smiles and talking to them and hearing from them that they love their teacher, and they love their school, brings such joy,” Lindsey said. “CUSD has continued to look at student enrollment through an Enrollment Task Force, which was formed during the 2022–23 school year and continues this year.”
The task force explores creative and sustainable solutions that create opportunities for parent choice, flexible attendance boundaries and balancing enrollment while providing recommendations that can be realistically implemented now and in the future. Recommendations this year include open enrollment priority for students in large and/or impacted schools, which will be implemented in the 2024–25 school year, Lindsey said.
A more recent example of school closures occurred on Oct. 10, when Baldwin Park USD trustees voted to close two elementary schools at the end of the year.
The Los Angeles County district is no stranger to the closure/consolidation process and acknowledges it’s a continuous conversation. In the 2020–21 school year, BPUSD reconfigured its middle schools and consolidated Santa Fe School and Holland Middle School to launch the BP STEM Academy, said Superintendent Froilan N. Mendoza. The LEA closed an elementary school at the conclusion of 2021–22 school year as well as the 2022–23 academic year.
“While the district is currently focusing efforts on reconfiguring closures for Central Elementary School and Margaret Heath Elementary at the conclusion of this 2023–24 school year, there is a recommendation from the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on School Closures (SACSC) to evaluate closing a potential middle school and elementary school at the conclusion of the 2026–27 school year, dependent on actual and projected enrollment patterns,” Mendoza said. “It is being considered to extend this recommendation for re-evaluation for future closures to the 2028–29 school year to give continuity to the students who have moved to new schools.”
Formed in 2021–22, the SACSC includes parents, alumni, teachers, staff, administrators and community representatives. Town hall meetings and surveys are some ways the district solicits feedback from the public as leadership tries to navigate the impacts of declining enrollment. The LEA also has an FAQ section on their website (in English and Spanish) as well as other resources and information.
Prioritizing student achievement and social-emotional well-being, the district provides supports including campus tours, new school field trips, and mental health resources including use of the CoVitality assessment tool, Bridge Counseling Referrals and a partnership with Care Solace, an online research tool that assists individuals in finding local counseling services.
Other efforts include “meet the principal” events for families and classroom visits by principals.
“The principals of the closing schools have conducted classroom visits to have mini meetings with each group of students,” Mendoza said. “The principal also informed students that there are individual resources if they are struggling with their sadness or anxiety about the situation. District personnel, including psychologists, are available to assist with this process.”
They are also extending open enrollment for 2024–25 to give families extra time to find their best fit.
“The district will continue to assess the needs of students and families during and after the transition and develop any required support systems,” Mendoza said. “Inevitable challenges come with school closures, but there are also many successes. Due to the sensitive nature of these decisions, some challenges throughout the process can be the emotional strain on those involved, limited community involvement until it comes time for the decision to be made, and socio-political forces that use the situation for political gain taking away from the main objective.
“Despite the difficulty associated with school closures, the board made a decision to ensure the programmatic and fiscal stability of the entire district,” Mendoza continued. “It is also during these times that we are reminded of how truly resilient our families, staff and community can be. The perseverance that comes out on the other side of the challenges is remarkable.”
Heather Kemp is a staff writer for California Schools.