The Alum Rock Union School District became the latest in the Bay Area to turn to school closures to stay financially afloat when the district’s board of education voted earlier this month to close or merge 13 elementary and middle schools in the 2025-26 school year.
The move comes as districts across the Bay Area, from San Francisco to Oakland, take similar steps. Persistent, continued declining enrollment and the end of temporary COVID-19 relief funding has left schools scrambling to plug gaping holes in school budgets.
The Alum Rock district’s board voted earlier this month to close six schools, redesign three schools and consolidate four schools beginning in August — 13 out of the district’s 22 schools.
The decision stems from a $20 million budget shortfall. The district — which was rocked in 2019 by a corruption scandal over construction contracts, allegations of mismanagement and misspending and a scathing state audit — said without significant reductions, Alum Rock Union would have been bankrupt, risking a state takeover and loss of local control.
California school enrollment dropped by nearly 15,000 students to 5,837,690 students for the 2023-24 school year, marking the seventh consecutive year of statewide declines. The Bay Area experienced the state’s third largest decline in enrollment in the last 10 years, decreasing more than 8% since 2013, according to a Public Policy Institute of California analysis.
And while California schools received temporary federal funding during the pandemic to offset the pandemic’s impact on district finances, those funds expired in September, leaving many schools feeling financial pressure.
Alum Rock Union joins several other Bay Area schools facing a dire budget crisis. Hayward Unified School District’s budget shortfall tops $50 million, while Fremont Unified faces $35 million in budget cuts to account for the district’s deficit spending.
Other Bay Area districts turning to school closures and mergers to account for a looming financial crisis include Oakland Unified and San Francisco Unified school districts.
Last month, Oakland Unified said it plans to merge 10 schools to close the district’s $174 million two-year budget deficit. The move comes as the district reversed plans to close 11 schools last year after the announcement sparked controversy and outrage in the community and launched a state Department of Justice investigation. The investigation found the school closures would have disproportionately impacted Black and low-income students, as well as high-need students with disabilities.
San Francisco Unified’s former superintendent Matt Wayne announced a plan in October to close 13 elementary schools and two high schools in the 2025-26 school year to balance its $113 budget deficit and avoid a state takeover. A few days later, Wayne resigned and the board of education appointed Maria Su as interim superintendent and halted the school closure process immediately. Instead, Su announced a plan to buy out senior employees eligible for early retirement in hopes of avoiding district layoffs and prevent a state takeover. The plan offers staff members who are at least 55 years old and have served the district for five years a one-time incentive of 60% of their annual salary if they retire by June 30.
If schools run out of cash and can’t meet budget requirements, they risk a state takeover. If that happens, local school boards and administrators lose decision-making authority and the state determines cuts needed to balance the budget. Oakland Unified was taken over by the state in 2003 with a $100 million state loan.
Alum Rock Union said it is focused on making the transition to close and merge schools “as smooth as possible with minimal disruption.” The district said it will meet with employee unions to discuss the school closures impact on staff and will explore options to repurpose or lease closed school sites to generate revenue.