Vallejo City Unified School District officials told the joint City Council and school board meeting Sept. 25 that they are in Phase 2 of a school-closure and consolidation process and that the governing board has not yet made a final decision.

Superintendent Aurelio said the district’s governing board held a study session the previous night to review a draft Equity Impact Analysis (EIA). “We are looking at seven different schools. I want to say around 16 different possible configurations of closures or combinations,” he said. He described a preliminary recommendation to close Lincoln, Pennycook and Cooper elementary schools and to relocate John Finney Education Complex to the Cooper site. “Those are preliminary. No decision has been made at this point,” he said, and the board is targeting Dec. 17 for a decision that would affect the 2026–27 school year.

District and city officials emphasized ongoing community engagement. The district reported it had held one town-hall session and planned additional hybrid and virtual sessions, including a Spanish-only town hall, to solicit feedback. Trustees and the superintendent stressed transportation, lunch-service capacity, staff parking and campus safety as key variables under review.

“We are going through the process of still gathering information, ensuring that the governing board has all the information they need to make an informed decision with a target date for that decision, December 17,” Aurelio told the meeting.

Officials said declining enrollment has left many campuses well under capacity and cited “right-sizing” as an objective to strengthen educational programs and keep the district out of state receivership. “A lot of our schools are less than 40% occupied,” a trustee said, noting that combining campuses can allow more teachers at each grade level and stronger program offerings.

Council members and trustees thanked the district team for transparency and data-driven analysis, while acknowledging the emotional and neighborhood impacts of any closures. City leaders pledged to assist with transportation planning and said investments such as the Sonoma Boulevard complete-street project should help safety around some campuses.

District staff also noted two district asset items that could affect the facilities discussion: securing title for the district office and resolving escrow on the Rollingwood property. City leaders said they would help pursue those titles to reduce financial pressure on the district.

No formal vote or action on closures occurred at the meeting; trustees said further community engagement and data collection will continue before the board’s target Dec. 17 decision.