Why this matters
South Bay Union serves about 5,500 students in preschool through eighth grade from communities in Imperial Beach, San Ysidro and southern San Diego, many of whom are considered low-income and identify as Hispanic or Latino. Hundreds of the district’s students will be impacted by its consolidation plan.
South Bay Union officials tonight will provide their first major update on the district’s school consolidation plan since voting earlier this year to close as many as three campuses.
Nestor Language Academy Principal Jaime Gonzalez and Zach Worthen, a solutions engineer focused on education and enrollment analytics at district vendor PowerSchool, will present information on student enrollment, site capacity and new school boundaries during a special board meeting Thursday.
In May, board members voted to close up to three campuses within the next five years amid declining enrollment and financial trouble. The board identified Central Elementary, which is set to close at the end of this school year, but has not finalized details on any other potential closures.
Enrollment at the South Bay Union is now roughly half of what it was a decade ago and officials expect that trend to continue. The district earlier this year had also faced a budget shortfall of $19 million and $15 million the following year, even as it plans on using most of its reserves to cover deficit spending.
After Central closes, the district plans to prepare the next campus for closure, execute the following year and repeat the process until all three campuses are shut down by mid-2030.
If you go
South Bay Union members will hold a special meeting to discuss updates to the district’s school consolidation plan.
When: 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.
Where: Burress Auditorium, 601 Elm Ave., Imperial Beach.
More: Tune in online.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
