SF school closures: How empty buildings impact neighborhoods
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When San Francisco's public school district implements its school closure plan next school year, some once-lively facilities will sit empty across various neighborhoods in the city.
Why it matters: School closures have well-documented impacts on academic outcomes, but more recent research shows they also can lower housing values, raise crime rates and diminish the social fabric of a community.
Threat level: The most severe impacts of closures tend to occur in low-income urban areas that already lack recreation centers, parks or other facilities that can absorb the role of community hub forfeited by the school, UC Davis Department of Human Ecology associate professor Noli Brazil told Axios.
- Schools are more than just academic institutions. Residents hold meetings in cafeterias. Gymnasiums are used as polling places on Election Day. Health clinics and food pantries offer services there on weekends.
What they're saying: A closed school becomes an "eyesore" as its grounds go "unkempt for extended periods of time and buildings fall into decay and disrepair," Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco executive director Vanessa Marrero told Axios in July.
- That becomes "a signal to communities that the district is unwilling to invest in their children's success," she said.
The other side: "We have some high-level ideas of how we will use buildings and spaces to benefit our communities so that these facilities continue to contribute to a thriving community," SFUSD spokesperson Katrina Kincade told Axios.
- Those ideas include working with developers to build affordable housing for educators, collaborating with nonprofits to use the buildings for art centers or mental health services, and transforming the area into green space.
- The district, however, "will deeply engage" the affected communities for their input on how to use the empty school properties, she said.
The intrigue: San Francisco residents will vote in November — after the school closure recommendations but before the finalization of those plans — on four school board seats.
- Matt Alexander, the sole incumbent who's seeking reelection, has pointed out SFUSD's "deeply flawed" past school closures and the "disproportionate impact on the Black community," he told Mission Local.
The big picture: More than 5,000 public schools closed across the U.S. between 2017 and 2022, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
- Closures are most often driven by district budget shortfalls caused by declining enrollment, as is the case in San Francisco.
- SFUSD's school closure plan is part of its Resource Alignment Initiative, a multi-year plan designed to address declining enrollment and revenue, staffing issues and deteriorating facilities.
What's next: SFUSD plans to announce which schools it recommends to be closed, merged or relocated on Sept. 18.
- The city's Board of Education will vote on those recommendations in December, with changes going into effect next school year.