LBUSD parents of Lakewood’s Gompers Elementary criticize potential school closure – Press Telegram

Parents of Gompers Elementary School, in Lakewood, say they are concerned about their children’s education as the Long Beach Unified School District considers closing the campus at the end of the 2026-27 academic year.

As the school district continues dealing with declining enrollment, loss of federal funding and a budget deficit, district staffers have recommended closing two schools – with Gompers Elementary being one of them.

Last week, on Thursday, Oct. 1, Superintendent David Zaid sent out a letter to parents to inform them of the district staff’s recommendation to the Board of Education. The board members will hear a presentation on the school closures during its Wednesday, Oct. 7, meeting and will make a final decision on Oct. 21, according to district staff.

A community meeting took place on Monday, Oct. 5, to let the Gompers school community know why this decision is being made. Based on enrollment, school capacity and the long-term sustainability of district programs and resources, district leadership is recommending that the elementary school close at the end of the academic year.

If the Board of Education were to approve the closure of Gompers, a new attendance boundary would be drawn out and students would attend Cleveland, MacArthur or Twain elementary schools, which are all within 2 miles, according to David Miranda, LBUSD assistant superintendent of facilities and operations.

Students receiving special education, multilingual learner support or other individualized services will also have their placement and service needs addressed throughout the applicable district process as part of the transition, according to the superintendent’s letter. As of now, special education students would transfer to Riley Elementary School, Claudia Sosa-Valderrama, assistant superintendent of school support services, said during the Monday meeting.

Like school districts throughout the state and nation, LBUSD continues to experiencing significant declining student enrollment, in large part because of increased cost of living and lower birth rates, district staff said. That is why the district is considering school consolidations and closures to remain fiscally responsible and maintain quality programs for all students.

In fall 2023, the district created a School Capacities Working Group to assess each campus’ capacity to accommodate students, Miranda said.  The working group’s task was to develop a structured framework for analyzing enrollment data, current capacities, space utilization, room sizes, program needs and specific space requirements.

Gompers Elementary has a current enrollment of 370 students and operates at about 38% of its program capacity, Miranda said during the Monday meeting.

The second school under consideration for closure is in downtown Long Beach, Edison Elementary School, which has a current enrollment of 415 students, nearly 40% of whom attend through the School of Choice process. Edison is significantly underutilized, currently operating at about 44% of its program capacity. The Edison attendance boundary will be consolidated with the Chavez and Oropeza elementary school boundaries.

“How do we get to an ultimate landing spot of a closure?” Miranda said during the Monday meeting. “We identify what we call schools to monitor. We look at a number of different criteria thresholds. One of them is some of our schools are utilizing only half of their building space. What we do on the facility side is we look to flag schools that are using less than 45% of their building space.”

Parents shared their concerns and frustrations with the potential closure of Gompers, such as alternative schools not being in walking distance for elementary school-aged students, large class sizes, stretching resources and impacting the quality of education for students.

“Be transparent,” one parent yelled from the crowd.

“What happens if families move into the area,” another added.

Ashlee Napalan is an employee of the district and mother of three children who attend Gompers. Napalan brought up her concerns about classes being at max capacity for teachers already in the district and how this change could greatly affect students.

“This is generations of safety and trust that is built in this community, and you’re tearing it apart,” Napalan said. “You’re treating our kids like numbers, and I’m tired of it.”

Gompers has been a cornerstone of the community for decades, parents and community members said, educating generations of family members. Some parents started an online petition, which as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, had received more than 1,800 signatures.

“The recent decision to close Gompers Elementary will have a devastating impact not just on the children who attend, but also on the wider community,” the petition says. “Closing this school disrupts the education of our students, many of whom rely on its proximity for easy access to educational facilities.”

While the management of public schools and decisions regarding school closures are the sole responsibility and jurisdiction of LBUSD, Lakewood city officials said they care deeply about students and families that would be impacted by the school closure.

“We want to reassure our residents that the city is closely monitoring this process and will maintain an open dialogue with the district,” city officials said in a Saturday, Oct. 3, statement, “to help ensure that the voices and concerns of Lakewood residents are heard and respected.”

Some parents said they understood that the district might consider this closure because of budget constraints or other logistical concerns, but they believe that LBUSD and the Board of Education should consider alternatives that could help keep the school open.

If the two schools were to close, potential uses for the campuses at Gompers and Edision would be interim spaces for students and staff displaced during modernization and construction elsewhere in the district, a district professional development site, or operational support for district administration, warehousing and operational functions.

District leadership said they would support Gompers students and families throughout the transition, but the Board of Education has yet to make a decision. If the schools were to close, students would receive priority when registering for the next school year through LBUSD’s School of Choice process, according to district officials.