The Final Bell
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Ayush Deshpande May 20, 2026
On March 26, the members of the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) Board of Trustees convened and voted to close five schools in a narrow three-to-two decision. This concluded a months-long process of numerous board hearings, community meetings and protests. Empire Gardens, Canoas, Gardner, Lowell and Terrell elementary schools will be closing as early as the end of the 2025-26 school year.
SJUSD deemed these school closures as necessary due to a significant 20% decrease in district enrollment since the 2017-2018 school year. The number of schools with fewer than 350 students increased from six to 12 between 2017 and 2026, per SJUSD. These smaller schools place greater strain on the district’s budget as they still require essential staff such as principals, nurses, security, counselors and campus supervisors, while distributing these costs over fewer students since schools need a fixed number of certain staff no matter their size per Education Resource Strategies. Furthermore, smaller schools tend to have less specialized programs, such as art, music and science labs. Staffing shortages in smaller schools also push teachers to take on combo classes, in which two grade levels are taught simultaneously. This not only increases teacher workload but can also hurt the quality of education, as each grade will not receive the specialized education they need.
Efforts to revitalize the district began in September 2025 when the Board of Trustees created the Schools of
Tomorrow initiative to address declining enrollment by optimizing facilities and curriculum. The initial committee recommended that each elementary school maintain at least three classes per grade level, with an increase to four if offering a bilingual program. District leaders determined that maintaining a smaller school would significantly increase the staffing budget without providing the essential resources needed to provide an ideal education. These recommendations, combined with ease of implementation, impact on families and financial concerns ultimately led to the decision to close five elementary schools.
“Access to education is no longer equal when some families can easily get their child to school and others have to figure out transportation across a longer distance, which costs them more in time and money,” Senior Kali Gruenhagen said.
The Board’s final vote came down on March 10 with a three-to-two vote in favor of closing the schools. Based on the school's population, the closures will displace approximately 1,500 students and teachers in addition to nurses and counselors. Closing the schools could also further impact the students, such as increased commute times for many students transferring to schools further away. SJUSD plans to alleviate these struggles with an after-school extended learning program, busing for students more than one and a half miles away and doubling flexible funding per pupil for receiving schools to support integration.
Despite efforts to alleviate the pressure on affected students and their families, the school closures have sparked significant community opposition. A petition advocating for keeping Terrell Elementary open received 1,593 signatures. Further community action was taken with several local Parent Teacher Associations, such as that of Simonds Elementary, holding meetings seeking to keep their schools open. Among the most controversial schools on the closure list was Williams Elementary School, who were on the initial proposal. The proponents of the closure cite the high cost of maintaining the facilities, noting that it was previously closed and reopened. Opponents, however, emphasized that Williams was a high-capacity school with 559 students, and according to Greatschools, students there were 1.7 to 2.3 times more likely to pass state testing compared to the district averages. Due to these concerns, a petition was created on Change.org, receiving nearly 5,000 signatures, leading to Williams Elementary being removed from the final proposal. This ultimately culminated in the final March 2026 hearing before the vote, where teachers,
50 students and parents voiced their concerns to the board of education for over two hours, per San Jose Spotlight.
“Schools are more than just buildings where students take classes; they help connect families and host events that can bring the community together. When a school closes, that connection and community building can weaken,” Junior Victoria Khaut said.
SJUSD faces the difficult task of balancing its finances while mediating the community impact of the school
closures. As the district enters the 2026-2027 school year, it must now prove to the community the positive impact these school closures will have and demonstrate the benefits that consolidating smaller schools will have on the resources available to each student.
About the Contributors
Ayush Deshpande
Staff Writer
Ayush Deshpande is a junior at Leland High School, he is a staff writer for the charger account. He is very interested in Formula One, Legos, Star Wars, and when not at school or playing video games he is often found at K1 Speed or his freinds houses.
Ryan Park
Artist
Ryan Park is a junior at Leland High School who is an artist for The Charger Account. When he is not residing at the gym, he likes to mess with his cats and read manga.
