Dive Brief:
- San Jose Unified School District’s board of education on Thursday approved a plan to close five of its 26 elementary schools by the end of the 2025-26 school year as the district faces ongoing enrollment challenges.
- The California district reported that its enrollment has dropped by 20% — or 6,000 students — since the 2017-18 school year. This is due to declining birthrates as well as the high cost of living in the Bay Area that is leading many families to move away, according to San Jose USD.
- San Jose USD also expects its enrollment to continue decreasing. Between the 2025-26 and 2032-33 school years, enrollment is projected to dip by another 13% from 24,081 students to 21,186.
Dive Insight:
Elementary schools in San Jose USD are feeling the brunt of its enrollment declines: the number of primary schools with fewer than 350 students doubled from six to 12 since 2017-18, the district reports.
The district announced it was considering possible school closures in September through its Schools of Tomorrow initiative, which was established by the board of education through a committee of parents, teachers, principals and union representatives. The initiative was created to make “a recommendation on the characteristics of an ideal elementary school,” which could include reducing the number of schools to ensure more resources are available at each site, according to the September announcement.
In November 2024, the district’s $1.15 billion bond referendum passed, adding a new tax rate of $60 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value. The approved Measure R provides the funds to San Jose USD to upgrade school campus safety systems, update classroom technology, repair old electrical systems, improve classrooms and labs for STEM and career and technical education uses, and provide affordable housing to the district’s teachers and staff…