FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno Unified School District officials are looking to reassure families that no decisions have been made about closing schools after a recent board workshop highlighted the district’s lowest-enrollment campuses and sparked concerns among parents.
Information discussed during a Sept. 16 board workshop focused on enrollment and attendance trends and their effect on student learning and the district’s budget.
The district identified 10 elementary schools with low enrollment. Eight of the 10 schools enroll fewer than 400 students.
Parents began contacting the district after the list was released, asking whether their children’s schools were at risk of closure. Superintendent Misty Her said Fresno Unified does not need to close schools right now, though closures remain one of the options the district is studying.
“It’s going to be very intentional. What we were doing when we put the list out of the low enrollment schools was not to say we’re going to close you down. It was really to say we are actually doing very proactive planning,” Her said.
The issue comes as Fresno Unified continues to experience declining enrollment, a trend Her said districts across the country are facing. According to the district, enrollment fell from 66,824 students last year to 64,957 this year, a decrease of more than 1,800 students. The district projects enrollment will drop to 59,466 students by the 2030-31 school year.
Her said declining enrollment directly affects district finances because state funding is tied to enrollment and average daily attendance.
“When we have declining enrollment, what it simply means is that we don’t get that funding anymore,” Her said.
“If you think about Fresno, we’re landlocked, right? And so we’re not building,” she said. “Not only that, but people simply are just not having kids.”
Her said school closures remain among the options being studied, but emphasized they would be considered only after other alternatives are evaluated and after public input.
“Yeah, it is one of the options, but we’re going to explore a lot of options first, and we’re not going to do it without our community,” Her said.
Her estimated any decision involving school closures would likely be three to five years away, though she acknowledged that timeline could change if enrollment were to decline more sharply than expected.
Asked whether the district needs to close schools at this moment, Her said, “Right now, currently, no.” She said the district can take other steps first.
If additional budget reductions become necessary, Her said the district would continue looking first at central office operations before considering cuts affecting school sites and classrooms. She said potential reductions could include cutting outside contracts and combining work that’s duplicated across departments.
Despite the financial challenges, Her said she remains optimistic about the district’s future and its ability to improve student outcomes.
“It’s difficult, but I think I’m very grounded. I know what I need to do. I know how we need to do it,” she said. “I think we are very primed and we can get some very phenomenal results for our students if we stay the course.”
Her said she will share more information once the MGT study is complete. The district says community members will have opportunities to provide input before any recommendations are brought to the Fresno Unified Board of Education.
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