San Jose Unified School District extends deadline for school-closure vote
San Jose Unified School District extends deadline for school closure vote
The San Jose Unified School District is taking a bit more time to consider the potential closure of up to nine elementary schools in the South Bay city.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Unified School District is taking a bit more time to consider the potential closure of up to nine elementary schools in the South Bay city.
The school board held a special session for public feedback on Tuesday, ahead of the Schools of Tomorrow Implementation Committee meeting. The school closure plan was drafted by the Schools of Tomorrow Implementation Committee or STIC.
The board has drawn criticism from parents about communication, and they did not hold back on Tuesday.
Over 100 community members came out for Tuesday’s meetings of the board and the STIC.
"This is insanity," Ethan, a current middle school student who attended Gardner Elementary, said at the school board meeting. "You care about the future, the schools of tomorrow. What about the schools of today? What about the families of today? What about the families that exist right now?"
The backstory:
Gardner is one of the nine elementary schools up for closure in the first option known as option 2.2, the STIC is considering, along with Almaden, Anne Darling, Canoas, Lowell, Rachel Carson, Selma Olinder, Simonds and Walter L. Bachrodt.
The second option under consideration, option 8, would close Empire Gardens, Lowell, Gardner, Canoas and Terrell Elementary schools while moving Hammer Montessori to Gardner.
The STIC voted to reccommend option 8 to the board on Thursday.
The school board was expected to make a final decision March 12, but the district has asked for more time. The new timeline, if approved on Thursday, would have the board vote on March 26.
What we know:
Iniya Kasiviswanthan attended Reed Elementary.
"I had to relocate schools when I was in second grade, and I don’t want that to happen to my sister because she’s also in second grade," she told KTVU.
Iniya says she lives right across the street from Reed, which makes it an easy walk for her sister. Her father, Karthick, says choosing to live in that neighborhood was also about choosing Reed.
Karthick and other parents also criticized the lack of communication from the district when it comes to these changes.
"There has been a complete lack of transparency and the whole process is rushed, almost with an ulterior motive," Karthick said.
Students and parents made passionate points to the board, criticizing the data provided by SJUSD to back up the closures.
"The scoring system rewards large-scale closures. The very outcome that many people here are trying to avoid," said one parent.
Many commenters said school closures don’t make sense financially.
"Expected savings from closing nine schools comes up to about half a million dollars. For a district of about 25,000 students, that savings is relatively insignificant. The savings alone just barely covers the salary of the superintendent," said another commenter.
Big picture view:
Some parents also wonder why the district is citing student enrollment as a challenge, when the district's funding is not tied to student headcount.
"Our funding is completely tied to property tax and not attendance. The funding for students has gone up over years instead of down, so they should be taking advantage of that," David Friedlander, an SJUSD parent told KTVU.
The district has said closures could be the only path to its sustainability, after losing 20% of its students since 2018. SJUSD says 12 of its elementary schools have fewer than 350 students.
One big concern is how the closures will impact neurodivergent and special education students more heavily. David Wilkes has two autistic sons who both attend school in SJUSD.
"When it comes to autistic kids, not all of these options are created equally. These are our most vulnerable students so we have to give them an extra layer of consideration and thought," Wilkes said.
Speakers on Tuesday pointed out that here in the heart of Silicon Valley, there's never just one way of doing things.
"Other school districts have innovated, they’ve made new programs. When they’re talking about closing schools, they should really be rethinking what they can do," Friedlander told KTVU.
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Parents rally as San Jose Unified considers closing up to 9 schools
Emotions ran high Tuesday night as parents packed a meeting in the South Bay over a proposal by the San Jose Unified School District to close up to nine elementary schools.