Students, parents rally as another San Jose school district considers closures
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Students and parents in San Jose are rallying to keep their public schools open.
The Berryessa Union School District is looking to close three of its 13 campuses. This comes as the Alum Rock Union School District in San Jose is also saying it must close campuses at the end of the school year.
Trang Huynhnguyen is a parent of two students in the Berryessa District.
"I am feeling really sad and really disappointed that any school, any child within this district has to be relocated," Huynhnguyen said.
The district tasked an advisory committee with preparing a list of schools that could potentially close.
MORE: 10 San Jose schools may close or consolidate due to $20 million budget deficit, district says
There are five elementary schools and three middle schools up for consideration.
A district spokesperson says the list was made using the state's best practices. However, many parents said this process has been confusing.
"Are you going to do something to stop it? And it's just really emotional for us at home talking to your child," Huynhnguyen said.
After the rally, a press conference was held.
"Why are we even accepting this? We shouldn't," one speaker said.
The district released this statement:
"Unfortunately, like countless public school districts across the Bay Area, the Berryessa Union School District (BUSD) has experienced a significant decline in enrollment over the past decade. In response, BUSD has spent the last two years engaging in a thoughtful, inclusive and collaborative process to address the financial impact of reduced funding.
Our School Consolidation Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives from all of our schools, recently completed its recommendations on school closures for the BUSD Board of Trustees, and the Board will convene in December to determine next steps. We understand how difficult and challenging this process is for our entire community. School closures are an action of last resort, that we take very seriously. The District remains committed to supporting our Berryessa community throughout this transition."
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Parents who spoke at the press conference questioned if the district has taken proper measures.
"And instead they want to give superintendents a raise, 6.5% raise, but yet we're in some kind of financial deficit. It doesn't make any sense to me," one speaker said.
"I can probably speak for most of us standing here, when our company is not doing well, we do not get raises, especially of 6.5%" a parent said.
ABC7 News spoke with Chandan Bhat, a father of two kids who attend Cherrywood Elementary School - the first school on the list of potential closures.
"We are from India and our kids go to Mandarin immersion program and they're doing really well," Bhat said.
The school board is expected to make a decision on December 18th.
"These are public schools," Bhat said. "At the end of the day, the public needs to be aware of what the bases of these decisions are and I'm not sure if that's happening with full transparency."
