13 Alum Rock schools in San Jose closing, consolidating

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Six Alum Rock Unified schools in East San Jose will close and as many as seven others will be consolidated or redesigned.

This plan has been in the works for months, but the school board finally made it official on Monday night after a unanimous vote following a four-hour meeting. 

The decision is a departure from the superintendent’s recommendation last month of closing seven schools and consolidating two. 

The consolidations and closures are being done to save money. The district has a $20-million budget deficit because of declining enrollment and the expiration of COVID relief funds. 

The district said in the early 2000s it had 16,000 students, and is down to 7,300 this year. All of the schools being closed are at less than 45% capacity.

It’s a similar story we’re hearing in school districts all across the Bay Area, including Oakland, Fremont and Hayward.

In a statement, Supt. German Cerda said these changes will help the district be smaller and leaner. "By consolidating resources, we will enhance educational programs, improve facilities and make a greater impact for every student," he said.

Parents showed up at the meetings with signs of support for their schools.

"One day, my two sons came home, they cried," mother Emily Nguyen said. "They said, ‘Mom, this is so unfair.’"

She recounted how last year they struggled to fight the closures, all to no avail.

"And then this year, it's the same thing," she said. 

On Tuesday morning, parents at Donald Meyer Elementary were still unsure what would happen next, and feared switching schools would negatively impact their child's learning. 

"I’m just kind of worried because it’s 22 kids to a teacher now, I think they’re going to 30-something kids to a teacher. It just doesn’t seem like it’s enough attention for each child," said parent Cynthia Savioncello.

Milena Mena just moved to the neighborhood, so her child could go to Kindergarten at Donald Meyer. 

"A lot of us are just walking to school so we look for something close by so the kids can walk to school. So being closed down because there’s not a lot of kids, it’s like so what about the rest of us?" said Mena.

The schools that will close at the end of this school year are:

1. Sylvia Cassell Elementary School

2. Donald Meyer Elementary School

3. Horace Cureton Elementary School

4. Dorsa Elementary School

5. Renaissance Academy at Fischer Middle School

6. Joseph George Middle School

The schools that will be consolidated are:

1. Renaissance at Fischer will merge with Renaissance at Mathson

2. LUCHA Elementary School will merge with San Antonio Elementary

3. Painter Elementary will merge with Sheppard Middle School

4. After the 2025-26 school year, Adelante II Academy will merge with Adelante Dual Language Academy at former Fischer site

There are currently 22 schools, so closing or consolidating more than a dozen affects more than half of students and families.

At previous meetings, the superintendent said even after closing schools this year, the district will still need to come up with other ways to save money next year.