District proposes repurposing First Street site amid rapid enrollment growth; public hearing draws dozens

Western Placer Unified School District staff outlined a plan Wednesday to phase out First Street School as a neighborhood elementary and repurpose its portables to add classroom capacity at Glen Edwards Middle School and Creekside Oaks as the district responds to rapid enrollment growth.

The district presentation said overall enrollment has more than doubled over 25 years and that it expects to grow by about 1,000 students in the next five years; staff told the board it will need space for “approximately 300 kids by 2030–31” at the middle-school level. A district presenter also said, “First Street needs some TLC for sure.”

The proposed changes would: reassign Lincoln Crossing students to Glen Edwards Middle School and Lincoln High School for the affected cohorts; move 13 classrooms from First Street to Glen Edwards and six to Creekside Oaks; and phase the First Street site out starting no earlier than the 2027–28 school year, with implementation likely in 2028–29 or later. Staff said the exact phasing — whether phased over years or closed at once — is still to be determined and that any timeline depends on funding and board direction.

Why it matters: District officials said the changes are meant to prevent overcrowding that would reduce program offerings and classroom quality. Staff told the board they aim to avoid splitting neighborhoods where possible and to minimize disruption, but acknowledged the move will be difficult for First Street…