BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
All three Palo Alto school board candidates are willing to close schools if enrollment continues to drop, but only one of them said he’d be open to selling a campus.
“If we’re not using it, why not?” candidate John Craig said in an interview.
Palo Alto’s enrollment has been steadily declining each year, from 12,287 students in 2017 to 10,209 students last year, according to data from the California Department of Education.
The smallest schools are Juana Briones Elementary School with 244 students and Barron Park Elementary School with 258 students.
Candidate Avery Wang said he hopes to avoid closing schools because it’d be extremely unpopular, and the district may be adding students from state housing mandates.
“We need to look ahead to see what’s going on there. If it has to happen, it has to happen,” Wang said.
Candidate Linda Henigin said she wouldn’t maintain a school with one or fewer classes per grade, but she would never sell a campus.
“I don’t know why we would release an asset that we may need back again. Leasing, sure,” she said.
All three candidates acknowledged the emotional impact and logistical challenges that closing schools would have. “You don’t want to react too quickly,” Craig said.
The district’s enrollment peaked in 1967 at 15,575 students. Enrollment began to decline in the 1970s and continued through the 1980s. The bottom was reached in 1989 when total enrollment was 7,452, according to the district.
The configuration of schools then stood at 11 elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools.
Today the district has 12 twelve elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools.
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