Committee to Meet Again to Discuss School Closure Recommendation

The San Bruno Park School District committee tasked with making a recommendation about school closures has decided to call one last meeting today to finalize the committee's stance on the issue.

At , the committee decided to recommend holding off on closing a school for a year. While the ultimate decision about closing a school rests with the school board, which will meet on April 18 to discuss the committee's recommendation, the school closure talks continue to be steeped in controversy.

Many residents were angered by a that put Crestmoor Elementary at the top of the list to be considered for closure. Residents have also complained that the school district has been too vague about the reasons why school closures are even being considered in the first place.

Superintendent David Hutt has maintained that school closures must be considered because all sixth graders in the district are moving to Parkside Intermediate next year, and declining enrollment and shrinking funding from the state would make operating all seven elementary schools a financial burden.

However, the committee found that .

"The amount of money saved by a site closure was determined to not be a significant amount since most of the costs of staffing and maintenance would transfer with the students to their new locations," a draft of the committee's report said.

The San Mateo Daily Journal further reported today:

An updated draft of the report, which should be finalized by the committee today, said “there is no compelling justification to close any site. The committee found little evidence of cost savings or potential revenue.” 

Hutt acknowledged closing a school, in concept, is not something many would support. However, he said that the closure is one thing to consider in a larger budget conversation.

The will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the district office. The public will be allowed to make comments on the report before the committee makes a final decision.

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