|
|
||
|
|
||
The two schools most likely to to close are Bouquet Canyon and Emblem elementary schools, Superintendent Judy Fish said.
In addition, James Foster, Cedarcreek and Santa Clarita elementary schools are on the list of schools to be considered for closure, district officials said during a Tuesday board meeting.
The district will host a study session Jan. 12 to further analyze which schools could be closed. Fish expects the board to make a decision during the Jan. 26 board meeting.
Closing schools would also lead to a change in the attendance boundaries for Saugus Union schools, Fish said.
Each closed school would save the 15-school district roughly $700,000 a year.
The district is expecting an $8 million budget cut as state funds to education continue to dwindle. The slash comes after Saugus Union has already endured $11 million in cuts from the state.
As funds disappear, the district also has seen a drop in student enrollment over the years as families have left to enroll their children in private and charter schools.
The district has planned to hold outreach meetings at schools to determine what schools current students would attend next year, Fish said.
The district is also working with teacher and classified unions to figure out which positions can be transferred to various school sites, she said.
A major factor in determining a school's closure is enrollment. All of the schools face enrollment declining below 500 students in the next several years, Fish said.
Emblem would face a temporary closure to allow for the construction of a two-story classroom building, which is the last step of the school's modernization project.
Saugus Union plans to finish modernization at Emblem as a way to prepare for nearby developments that would raise enrollment at Emblem.
"We just feel that this is an opportunity to complete the project and be in advance of those students arriving," she said.
Plans for constructing a new Bouquet Canyon campus have been put on hold because of funding concerns and delays in the permitting process.
The Saugus school, established in 1989, is made up of portable classrooms and was never intended to stay as a permanent campus.
Even though Bouquet Canyon faces permanent closure, Fish said the district does not intend to disband the site.
Rather, the district would consider using the school campus for other options, which are being looked at, she said.
