Long Beach Unified School District will close two elementary schools at the end of the 2026-27 school year.
The Board of Education voted to close Gompers Elementary School in Lakewood and Edison Elementary School in downtown Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 21, a hotly debated decision that sparked opposition from parents, students and teachers.
These elementary schools were recommended to be closed based on enrollment, school capacity and the need for LBUSD to be fiscally responsible as it navigates cuts to federal funding and an ongoing budget deficit, district staffers said.
During the Wednesday evening meeting, Gompers and Edison parents, students and teachers held up signs, reading: “Save Gompers,” “Hey LBUSD, Vote No” and “Don’t close our home.”
“There are moments in leadership when the decisions before us are difficult, and tonight is one of those moments,” Superintendent David Zaid said during the meeting. “I want to thank all of our families who are here for their signatures, their emails, their requests for the capacity study and the questions that they have raised in conversations. All of that shows that our schools matter deeply to the people that they serve.”
District officials announced the potential closure of Gompers and Edison earlier this month. While multiple parents and teachers said they felt it was a quick process for the decision of a school closure, district staffers said they have been looking at for this for the past couple of years.
“I want our community to understand that this recommendation is not sudden, it is not arbitrary and it is not a result of the process that began under my superintendency,” Zaid said. “For three years, our district has examined enrollment, capacity, facility utilization, neighboring schools and student needs.
“Our recommendation reflects consideration of multiple factors, not simply the number of students attending a school,” he added. “And before arriving at the recommendation, we invested in schools to sustain educational opportunities.”
Like school districts throughout the state, LBUSD continues experiencing significant declines in student enrollment, in large part because of increased costs of living and lower birth rates, district staffers said.
Enrollment at LBUSD has declined from nearly 98,000 students in 2004 to about 59,800 students today, and state projections suggest further decline, Zaid said. That is why the district is considering school consolidations and closures to remain fiscally responsible and maintain equitable programs for students.
The district is also facing a projected operating deficit of $45 million this year, and without further corrective action, the annual deficit is projected to reach $96 million by 2030, Zaid said. For this 2026-27 academic year, the district’s operating budget is around $1.26 billion.
LBUSD has been trying to address the deficit by reducing administrative costs by $1.7 million and making $30 million in cuts, Zaid added. District staffers’ and board members’ fiscal responsibility is what brought them to the difficult decision to close Gompers and Edison – which would provide the district with net annual savings of about $2.8 million.
“Responsible stewardship of district resources requires us to look at the big picture: how do we provide the best educational experience for our students with limited funds?” board President Diana Craighead said during the meeting. “We know that school closures will not solve the budget crisis, but not taking this difficult action means our resources will be spread thin across the district, and we may experience program losses and even workforce reduction.”
Gompers and Edison Elementary School parents spoke during the Long Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, asking for district officials to not close their schools. Board members voted 4-1 to approve closing the two elementary schools. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Gompers and Edison Elementary School parents, students and teachers spoke during the Long Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, asking for district officials to not close their schools. Board members voted 4-1 to approve closing the two elementary schools. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Gompers and Edison Elementary School parents spoke during the Long Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, asking for district officials to not close their schools. Board members voted 4-1 to approve closing the two elementary schools. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
At the Oct. 7 board meeting, staffers presented the proposal to close Gompers and Edision. The recommendations were based on projected enrollment, school capacity, educational considerations and proximity to other elementary schools, according to district staffers.
In fall 2023, the district created a School Capacities Working Group to assess each campus’ ability to accommodate students, said David Miranda, assistant superintendent of facilities and operations at LBUSD. 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.
Schools that are using less than 45% of their building space campuswide are identified and considered for either consolidation or closure, Miranda said, and the district reviews these numbers each year.
At Gompers, the school’s current enrollment is 370 students and is operating at about 38% of its capacity. At Edison, the current enrollment is 415 students – nearly 40% of whom attend through the district’s School of Choice process – and is operating at around 44% of its capacity.
Before their decision, the board members listened to the Gompers and Edison parents, students and teachers, who shared the generational significance these elementary schools have had in their surrounding communities in Lakewood and Long Beach.
“These closures will shatter our community and drive many families away, and I don’t say that as a threat,” Mandy Welch, a Gompers parent and president of the PTA, said during the meeting. “I say it because I know all of these people and I have talked endlessly with them. We are angry and heartbroken.”
The Gompers school community also received support from Lakewood Mayor Jeff Wood and fellow council members from that city.
For families at Edison, meanwhile, the closure would also mean additional barriers, speakers said — such as taking longer to get to school.
“Some staff have taught here for their entire career and plan to retire from here; I’ve taught at Edison for half of my life,” Kathleen Lytle, a teacher at Edison, said during the meeting. “For the neighborhood, this is a neighborhood school that has been here for 123 years. Generations of families have come here. Former students come back to visit. They enroll their children there. This is a business decision for the district. It will be a deeply emotional end to 123 years of history for the stakeholders of Edison Elementary.”
LBUSD’s Board of Education voted 4-1 to approve the closure of Gompers and Edison elementary schools at the end of the 2026-27 academic year. Craighead, Vice President Erik Miller, and board members Douglas Otto and Juan Benitez voted in favor. Board member Maria Lopez was the lone opposing vote.
Students at Edison will have the opportunity to attend Oropeza or Chavez elementary schools, and students at Gompers could attend Twain, MacArthur or Cleveland elementary schools. District staffers said they will work with students and families to ensure they can attend their preferred school next year through LBUSD’s School of Choice process.
“This recommendation does not end our responsibility – it begins another responsibility to care for every child and family through this transition,” Zaid said during the board meeting. “We will work with families on student placement, School of Choice opportunities, attendance boundaries and transition concerns.”