Teachers, staff, parents and students in Hayward are awaiting the fate of more than a dozen schools in danger of being closed because the district says enrollment numbers have plummeted.
The Hayward Unified School District board during a meeting Wednesday night is set to decide on the possible closure of as many as 14 campuses over the next three school years.
The move comes as district leaders say families are pulling their kids out of the district in record numbers, and the plummeting enrollment is impacting funding. Hayward Unified officials project an all-time low of about 16,500 students enrolled within the next several years, and at the same time, the district is facing a $14 million deficit.
The proposed closures, if approved, would come in the following three phases:
Year 1 (2022-23): Bowman Elementary, Eldridge Elementary, Glassbrook Elementary, Strobridge Elementary,
Faith Ringgold School of the Arts and Science, Helen Turner Children’s Center, Student Information and Assessment Center
Parent Resources HUB, Anthony Ochoa Middle
Year 2 (2023-24): East Avenue Elementary, Brenkwitz Continuation High School, Hayward Adult School
Year 3 (2024-25): Bret Harte Middle, Cesar Chavez Middle
The district’s proposed overhaul includes closing older school buildings in need of repairs and shuffling students to more modern facilities. But layoffs for teachers and staff have not discussed as part of the restructuring.
Wednesday night’s vote will come after several public forum meetings that started last month. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed virtually.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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