San Jose parents, students push back against proposed school closures
Emotions ran high at a contentious school board meeting Saturday as the San Jose Unified School District weighed a proposal to close five elementary schools at the end of the academic year.
District officials said the closures are necessary in response to a sharp decline in enrollment, but many parents and students argued the move would disproportionately harm low-income families and disrupt tight-knit school communities.
The five campuses under consideration are all Title I schools, serving a high percentage of low-income students. They are Empire Gardens Elementary, Lowell Elementary, Gardner Elementary, Canoas Elementary, and Terrell Elementary.
"No one wants you to shut down schools," one student told the school board during public comment. "The only thing that would do is hurt everyone."
Roughly 60 speakers spoke up, many of them urging board members to reject the proposal.
"Closing schools is the last resort," a San Jose resident said. "We are not there yet. I urge you to vote no."
Parents echoed concerns about equity and access.
"We are tired of waiting for you to give us equity," one parent said.
Among those who spoke was 11-year-old Ethan Dutra, a fifth grader at Gardner Elementary School, one of the campuses slated for closure. While Dutra will graduate in a few months, the decision would directly affect his younger sister, a first grader at the school.
"If our schools are shut down, it can cause serious emotional stress for students," Dutra said.
He described Gardner as a close community that would be difficult for younger students to replace.
"We have a truly strong community at Gardner and they're going to rip it apart," he said. "And that's probably going to be really hard for them to handle, especially at a younger age."
District leaders said the difficult decision is driven by numbers. Enrollment has dropped by about 20 percent since 2017, a loss of roughly 6,000 students. Some of the district's smallest elementary schools now serve only a few hundred students, limiting access to programs and resources.
Renata Sanchez, president of the San Jose Teachers Association, said consolidating schools could ultimately benefit students.
"Maintaining very small schools, often with fewer than two classes per grade level, limits access to services, programs, and opportunities that all students deserve," Sanchez said.
While acknowledging the plan is not ideal, she said it could lead to better opportunities overall.
"Is it perfect? No. Does it solve everything? No," Sanchez said. "But does it provide stronger learning opportunities for every student in the district? Yes."
Many families at the meeting disagreed, saying closures would create additional burdens, including longer commutes and fewer neighborhood-based resources for students.
Some also questioned why a district in the heart of Silicon Valley is facing financial strain.
"We're in Silicon Valley. We're in one of the richest cities in the United States," said parent Frances Tamayo. "I just don't understand."
Dutra urged the board to vote no, or at the very least, delay the school closures. But he worried parents and students' voices are not being heard.
"What they're doing is absolutely wrong. And they're not listening to the community, really. I've sent letters and emails. They don't care," said Dutra.
The school board is expected to vote on the proposed closures on Thursday.