More school districts across the U.S. are finding it increasingly necessary to close schools, but these moves are always difficult and always unpopular. School closings continue to be a fact of life as changing demographics force administrators to make unpopular decisions about shuttering underused buildings or starting the school consolidation process due to declining enrollment.
“While the closures of schools isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s a regional problem that has been taking place for years and that will continue for quite some time due to a decline in the U.S. birthrate and, in turn, the student population,” Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association, tells District Administration.
School closings in California’s Oakland USD, for instance, will take place over the next three years despite escalating protests that have led to district police erecting barricades, reported EdSource. Last February, the teachers’ union led a seven-day strike in response to the alleged use of police force.
