The Alum Rock Unified schools chief on Thursday is set to present a list of recommended campus closures to help the San Jose district close a nearly $20 million budget deficit.
If or when the seven schools close next fall, it will change where hundreds of children go to school and how parents get them there.
The schools on Superintendent German Cerda's closure list are Aptitud Academy, Donald Meyer Elementary, Horace Cureton Elementary, Joseph George Middle School, Lyndale Elementary, Renaissance Academy at Fischer and Sylvia Cassell Elementary. Other schools are listed for consolidation.
Cerda may request that one of the middle schools be converted into a TK-8 school.
Families have been pushing back ever since the closure plan was announced. But Cerda says no amount of public pressure changes the fact that the district has nearly 3,000 fewer students than it did nearly 10 years ago, contributing to the deep budget deficit.
"You can reprogram, you can cut as many district positions as possible, and you are not gonna get nowhere near the $20 million deficit that we are in. And it's $20 million per year," Cerda said.
After the superintendent makes his recommendation, the board could take a vote right away. If the vote is pushed to December, teachers and staff would be notified about the closures in January.
Districts around the Bay Area are struggling with declining enrollment and the end of COVID-era funds. On Wednesday night, Oakland Unified considered the future of 10 of its schools.
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