Vallejo City Unified considering closing several schools

CBS News

7 days ago

While many districts are celebrating back to school, the Vallejo City Unified School District is weighing more school closures due to declining enrollment, chronic absenteeism, and funding.
A committee of 10 community members recommended a list of seven schools, including Lincoln Elementary
"It's like family to me, especially the staff too," said Lori Brown, who lives near the school. "But you know, things change and there's a transition."
The full list includes:
Brown's husband is also the pastor of the First Baptist church directly across the street from Lincoln. Throughout the last two decades, they've stepped in to help.
"We started out actually as a uniform closet back when they required uniforms," explained Brown. "They would come over and then you would see that there was other needs, food was needed for them."
Brown said the students also needed school supplies and even assistance with their homework. The church has held pep rallies, ice cream events for kids with perfect attendance, and provides a safe space for the students.
She said the school is located in a low-income neighborhood, making access to resources, like a school, imperative.
"Children really rely on the school for safety, and for being educated," said Brown. "It's really a part of their family the staff over there."
Two schools have already closed for the 2025-26 school year, bringing the total schools in the district down to 18.
Superintendent Ruben Aurelio has only been with the district for a year, but in that time, it has exited state receivership and now has full autonomy. He said they have to continue to make the right decisions to correctly size the district, and that means closing some schools.
"We're not going to close seven schools," Aurelio clarified. "We probably won't close five schools. It's hard to predict exact numbers, but if I had to guess, it's probably going to be one to three."
The committee ranked each school in terms of priority for closure, Lincoln Elementary is at the top. But they will look at the numbers at the beginning of the school year before making any decisions
"We're funded based on our average daily attendance, we staff based on enrollment, but we only get funding for the kids that show up to school," said Aurelio. "So, we're staffing and funding at 89% attendance, and we're leaving 11 percent on the table, which for us each percentage is over a million dollars."
The committee will present the list to the school board on August 20. The final decision will be made in December, and it will go into effect for the '26-'27 school year. Impacted students would be moved to different campuses.
Brown said she's hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
"We're going to try and stay connected in other ways," Brown said with commitment. "There's other ways you can still be connected if the schools not there, but I guess it's a little harder, but we'll find ways."