Would a School Closure Disrupt Students' Lives and Neighborhood?

If a school in the San Bruno Park School District closed next year, it would surely disrupt the lives of the students, families, teachers and staff who have all called that school home for so many years.

One of the factors the school board has to consider if it decides on a school closure is how to make that disruption as minor as possible.

The committee meeting to make a recommendation to the board about school closures will be discussing that factor at its at 6:30 p.m. at the district office.

During discussions so far, many have raised questions about how the board would determine whether a school closes. Not all schools are the same academically, offer the same programs or have the same financial support from their parent organizations.

In addition, it is still not clear what would happen with students who have transferred to another school outside of their neighborhood. Despite the the district's transfer policy last year, those students might be forced to go back to their neighborhood school or another school completely.

Moreover, many are still questioning why the school board is rushing to make a decision about school closures so late in the year. With all sixth graders moving to Parkside Intermediate in the fall, critics say it would be too soon to tell how—if at all—the elementary schools would be affected by the change.

At the meeting, the committee will also be hearing a report from Superintendent David Hutt about the boundary study conducted by Total School Solutions, which has been criticized since a draft was released over the summer and which was supposed to be revised with feedback from the committee.

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