Enrollment in Los Angeles schools has taken another steep dive \u2014 about 4% this year \u2014 as officials press ahead with a multibillion-dollar modernization and rebuilding plan, raising questions about investing in campuses that may soon be shuttered.<\/p>\n
The school closure issue was supposed to move forward Tuesday, as the Board of Education was slated to vote on hiring a consultant to advise in that arena. But the contract was pulled from consideration at the last moment after mounting alarm among parent activists and employee groups. Instead, Supt. Andr\u00e9s Chait hit the reset button with a districtwide message.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen schools become very small, it can be harder to provide the full range of opportunities our students deserve,\u201d Chait wrote. \u201cThat is why, over the coming weeks, we will begin a community conversation about how we can strengthen our schools and make sure every student has access to the opportunities and support they need to succeed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is not simply to have fewer schools,\u201d he added. \u201cOur goal is to have stronger schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decisions weigh heavily into imminent issues confronting the Board of Education, which must carry out a budget-cutting plan<\/a> to prevent a deficit that, in a worst-case scenario, could increase to $3.5 billion by June 30, 2029. Layoffs, unpaid staff furloughs and school closures probably are ahead as the leaders downsize operations. <\/p>\n Billions for school reconstruction<\/p>\n At the same time, the school district has proceeded full force into its ongoing school reconstruction and modernization program, which voters buttressed in November 2024 with $9 billion in bonds.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the board approved major reconstruction projects at four elementary schools for a combined $322.6 million \u2014 Menlo Avenue, 93rd Street, 96th Street and 122nd Street, all in South Los Angeles. These projects were taken on to address earthquake risks and then expanded in scope. <\/p>\n In June, the board approved three other seismic-risk reconstructions totaling $496.9 million: Normandie Avenue Elementary and 107th Street Elementary \u2014 both in South L.A. \u2014 and Narbonne High School in the Harbor area.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the current and upcoming projects that were set in motion to address seismic safety are anticipated to cost more than $2 billion. <\/p>\n Rebuild versus close<\/p>\n The imperative to close all or portions of campuses potentially competes with the concurrent high priority of providing students with safe, up-to-date, fully resourced and inviting education environments.<\/p>\n The dilemma was partly captured in questions posed Tuesday by school board members Nick Melvoin and Rocio Rivas.<\/p>\n Melvoin wanted reassurance that the district would remain eligible for state seismic construction funding \u2014 which can pay for all or parts of school projects \u2014 if it went ahead with projects before having state approval. <\/p>\n Chief Facilities Executive Krisztina Tokes could offer no such assurance, advising the board that state earthquake mitigation funds are underfunded and oversubscribed.<\/p>\n Melvoin also was curious about how much flexibility the district would have to rethink or cancel projects based on state funding decisions or decisions related to school closures or consolidations.<\/p>\n Tokes said projects could return to the board at a later stage, but made it clear that money will be spent when the board approves projects.<\/p>\n Rivas wanted reassurance that district staff had made sure that these projects are the right ones to undertake.<\/p>\n \u201cAll four of these schools exceed that average elementary school school size, which is why we\u2019re comfortable bringing them forward,\u201d Tokes responded. \u201cThese schools, the enrollment ranges from 500 to over 700.\u201d<\/p>\n Tokes added: \u201cAnd then we have close conversations with the regions, with the principal and administration, making sure that when we are building projects here, that we are inclusive of whatever the programmatic needs are of that school.\u201d <\/p>\n Competing priorities<\/p>\n Given the years-long time frames needed for construction projects, the district facilities team doesn\u2019t want to delay upgrading facilities that students would immediately benefit from. One recent example is the ongoing construction for three schools destroyed or significantly damaged by the 2025 Palisades fire, using bond funds while also seeking insurance dollars and federal aid. <\/p>\n The district is also moving quickly to address the risk posed by the so-called lift-slab construction style of many school buildings erected in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. <\/p>\n One option would be not to rebuild some of these schools at all \u2014 given the district\u2019s excess capacity.<\/p>\n But the district does not have a current plan about which campuses it will close. <\/p>\n In its plans to spend billions in bond funds, district officials \u201chave not published reports which inform taxpayers … what enrollment assumptions were used, or what campus consolidations, if any, were contemplated,\u201d said Maria Luisa Palma, a community activist whose son recently graduated from a district school. \u201cWithout those plans in hand, the public is unable to evaluate if LAUSD is utilizing voter-approved bond funds prudently and hold them accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin said the issue is valid.<\/p>\n \u201cI was similarly concerned about rebuilding while also downsizing when we first started these discussions about a year ago,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n But she\u2019s been persuaded about the appropriateness of projects approved so far. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m confident that we\u2019re finding the right balance between high-priority safety upgrades, ongoing community engagement and long-term rightsizing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Officials noted that, on balance, the reconstruction is reducing student capacity at these schools, which also allows for more open space and recreation areas.<\/p>\n Enrollment drops again<\/p>\n Since peaking at more than 720,000 K-12 students in 2003, L.A. Unified has lost about 2.3% annually \u2014 with the exception of steeper drops during pandemic and since the start of the second Trump administration in 2025, according to data from the state Department of Education. <\/p>\n The state numbers for last year show a districtwide decline of 4.6%, with no numbers yet available for this year. <\/p>\n The district\u2019s numbers are somewhat different because the counting methods and counting dates are not identical. They indicate an enrollment drop of 3.4% last year, which is the rate of decline that the district anticipated for this year. Instead, the figure is 4.3% through week five of the school year.<\/p>\n According to state data from last year, ultra-small elementary schools include Glen Alta in Montecito Heights, 55 students; Ann Street in Chinatown, 71; Annandale in Eagle Rock, 78, and Hillside in Lincoln Heights, 96. Wright Middle School in Westchester is down to 435 students. Crenshaw High, in Hyde Park, is at 423 students.<\/p>\n Financial strain grows<\/p>\n Chief Financial Officer Saman Bravo-Karimi on Tuesday estimated that the steeper-than-expected enrollment decline has added a $60-million hurdle to this year\u2019s budget problems. It\u2019s still just a fraction of an $18.4-billion spending plan this year \u2014 which is balanced against $16.8 billion in revenue. The deficit is being made up for with reserves. <\/p>\n Bravo-Karimi estimated that, based on current guaranteed revenue, the nation\u2019s second-largest school system can remain solvent for about two more years after the current academic year. His figures already take into account job cuts over the next three years that are expected to surpass 6,000<\/a> in a system that employed about 83,000 last year. <\/p>\n Developments elsewhere could make the picture better or worse.<\/p>\n