SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego charter school is officially closing its high school.
Staff and school officials confirmed that America’s Finest Charter School in the Talmadge area will shut down the high school at the end of this school year.
Some staff told ABC 10News anchor Melissa Mecija they were caught off guard by this recent decision, but the executive director said they did not have a lot of options.
Nelly Pierre, who serves as the Director of Support Services for the school, said they got word from the board on March 5 that the school was closing. She said they were still recruiting students at the beginning of the school year.
“We asked, 'What are your intentions for the high school?'" Pierre said.
She said that the executive director told the staff they were not going to close the school at an administrative team leadership meeting earlier this school year.
In 2024, parents and students fought to keep the school open during an emotional board meeting. At the time, there were a little more than 100 students, and administration said budget was the main issue.
While the board voted to keep the school open, it was not the same result this time.
Ten employees in the charter school system will be laid off. Middle school teacher Jose Cruz is one of them.
“I love this school. Kids feel good at this school. Kids feel like they belong,” Cruz said.
By June 30, the high school program will be permanently shut down, something Pierre called devastating.
She said there was no clear communication between the staff and the top leaders at the chart school.
“It was not something transparent. It was not something that, OK, here's the plan. We’re going to close the school because of x, y and z," Pierre said.
Board President Keashonna Christopher and new executive director Eddie Park spoke to ABC 10News about the decision.
“It’s a sad situation, but you have to ultimately make the right decision for kids,” Park said.
Park took over eight months ago. He said if the school remained open, there would be an increasing deficit. He said their chief business officer reported it could be potentially $1 million each year.
Park also said America’s Finest Charter School was in danger of charter non-renewal from the San Diego Unified School District. The school dashboard from the state shows the school falling short in several areas.
According to the SD Unified website, the school “must meet all the student performance and operational goals listed in its charter, or the charter may be revoked.”
“Are we able to continue on and be financially healthy and academically healthy so that the school could possibly even start a comprehensive high school later on in the future?” Park said. “But now is not the time. We need to regroup, re-calibrate for the sake of the students,” Park said.
Enrollment was also way down. Park said they started the high school year with 70 students. Now, he said there’s only 47 students.
Christopher said that they had budget conversations at each board meeting that talked about where the school stood and the enrollment numbers. She added, “It’s in my experience in larger districts that they do have conversations in March about layoffs or closing.”
Despite the challenges, Pierre believes, the school could have been saved.
“I wanted to talk to the community of Talmadge and let them know that you know what, we’re here. We’re trying to fight,” Pierre said.
Park said they are working on a five-year strategic plan to hopefully reopen the high school in the future. As far as the building itself, he said they could potentially rent it in the meantime to another organization.
