IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) — The South Bay Union School District board unanimously voted Wednesday to close two elementary schools, adding to community frustration after declining enrollment and rising costs forced one closure earlier this year.
Sunnyslope Elementary is scheduled to close in 2029, while Berry Elementary will shut down in 2032. The decision came during a contentious board meeting where community members and teachers voiced strong opposition to the closures.
"It's sad that that's an option that they're looking at," said Gina Maestre-Chavez, a fourth-grade teacher at Sunnyslope Elementary.
The closures add to the district's challenges as it grapples with significant enrollment decline. District officials said they have lost more than 2,600 students over the last 10 years.
"The goal is to maintain as many schools as we can. But our reality is that we continue to decline, and that is just not sustainable," said Jose Espinoza, Superintendent of the South Bay Union School District.
Teachers expressed concerns about job security and placement following the closures.
"Us as teachers will be displaced," Maestre-Chavez said. "So, we don't know what the protocol would be. Will we even have a say in where we end up?"
The board previously voted in May to close Central Elementary at the end of this school year. Berry and Sunnyslope appeared to have been spared at that time.
Michelle Gates, secretary of the Southwest Teachers Association, argued that closing schools creates a cycle that drives away more families.
"You lose students when you close schools because they will go looking somewhere else because we present ourselves as not stable," Gates said.
District officials said in a statement that "school consolidation is a phased plan. Over the next few years, we will evaluate enrollment and financial data to assess the need for any future school closures." This suggests the decisions could potentially be reversed based on changing circumstances.
"But then why put them out at all," Gates said.
The Southwest Teachers Association also used Wednesday's meeting to continue advocating for a better contract, a dispute that has lasted nearly a year and a half. Union representatives said they are prepared to strike in February if their demands are not met, which would mark the first strike in the union's history.
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