Lenox superintendent recommends closing Felton Elementary, board to decide Dec. 16

Superintendent Gabriela Tividian recommended to the Lenox School District that Felton Elementary School be closed at the end of the current school year and its students and many staff be relocated to nearby campuses, most notably Buford Elementary, citing multi-year enrollment declines and mounting budget shortfalls.

Tividian said the district has lost “almost 1,200 students” since 2014 and that continued declines will reduce state funding, force program cuts and strain operations. She told the town hall that after a six-month review with a superintendent’s advisory council and a demographic study by MGT Consulting, she will present her recommendation to the board on Nov. 7 and that the board will take action on Dec. 16. “My recommendation to the Board is … to close Felton Elementary School at the end of this school year,” she said.

The superintendent’s recommendation is intended to reduce site-level overhead and stabilize the district’s budget. District materials shown at the meeting compared current enrollments and site financials: Buford was shown with about 464 students and Felton with about 355; the district presented estimated site-level revenue/expenditure figures indicating a shortfall at Felton on the order of roughly $1.2 million and a smaller deficit at Buford. The advisory council identified potential one-time and recurring savings in the range of $600,000 to $900,000 from consolidation, according to the presentation.

Why it matters

The district framed consolidation as a financial and instructional response to long-term demographic trends: lower birthrates, changes in migration and housing affordability, and shifts toward charter, private and home-schooling options. Tividian said forecasts show continuing declines if no action is taken and that underutilized campuses will leave resources thin across the district.

At the town hall, MGT consultant Mr. Taylor said the work was a recommendation, not a final decision, and that the town hall was part of a required community engagement process. PBK, a facilities consultant, provided a facilities needs assessment showing both Felton and Buford require repairs; the district said Buford’s recent safety upgrades and parking made it more accommodating to receive additional students.

Special education and continuity of services

Special-education parents, advocates and staff pressed district leaders for specifics about Individualized Education Program (IEP) continuity, placement and the district’s legal obligations. Becky Longo, assistant superintendent of instructional services, told the meeting that special-day classes housed at Felton will continue and that “all of those services will remain the same. They will just be given in another school.” She said the district intends to move SDC classes and associated staff (teachers, paraprofessionals and RBTs) to receiving campuses and to keep IEPs legally intact.

Longo also said the district is preparing an equity impact analysis for presentation to the board prior to any closure recommendation, and that the district has reached out to the Los Angeles County Office of Education for social-emotional and transition supports.

Community concerns and logistics

Parents and teachers repeatedly urged the district to preserve stability for special-education students, criticized the timing and pace of the process, and asked for details on transportation, bell times, staffing and how the district will support anxious students. A special-education teacher asked about the risk that a vacant campus could be occupied by a charter school; district leaders said they have a legal opinion addressing charter access and will make that available in the FAQs.

District leaders described transitional supports they plan to offer if the board approves the recommendation: parent meetings, tours, counseling supports, pre-visit opportunities for students, staff training at receiving sites, and staged communications. The district said it will analyze vacancies, retirements and reassignments before considering layoffs and will coordinate with labor partners.

Timeline and next steps

Tividian said she will gather town-hall feedback and present the recommendation and community input to the board on Nov. 7; the board will consider the recommendation as an action item at its Dec. 16 meeting. If the board approves consolidation, district staff will implement transition planning over the remainder of the school year to prepare for the 2026–27 school year (the superintendent framed the receiving site start as “Day 1 of 2026–27” in the presentation).

What the district said it considered

The superintendent described six decision factors used in her recommendation: enrollment projections; per-pupil operational cost; physical condition of sites; least disruption for students, staff and programs; classroom impact and teacher collaboration; and restructuring of the current centralized special-education model into a district-wide continuum.

Numbers presented at the meeting

- District historic decline: “almost 1,200 students” since 2014 (district slide). - Current totals shown: about 3,703 students districtwide, with roughly 2,819 identified as in-district students (the presentation distinguished resident versus nonresident pupils). - Site enrollments shown: Buford ~464, Felton ~355, Lennox Middle School ~1,103, other elementary sites 500–700 range. - Forecasts: the district’s consultant projected further declines through 2030 and beyond. - Estimated consolidation savings presented: $600,000–$900,000 (one-time and recurring savings range). - Site financial comparisons shown in the presentation: Buford revenue/expenditure gap shown as roughly negative $130,000; Felton revenue/expenditure gap shown as roughly negative $1.2 million.

What remains undecided

No final board action has been taken. The superintendent has made a recommendation; the board will decide whether to approve consolidation on Dec. 16. The presentation and public comments indicate many implementation details — including final staff assignments, exact SDC placements, transportation routes, bell times, and any eventual use or disposition of the Felton campus — will be worked out only if and after the board votes.

Ending

District leaders emphasized that consolidation is intended as one part of a broader fiscal stabilization strategy and pledged to continue updating FAQs and holding meetings to correct misinformation and collect community input. Parents and staff asked the district to prioritize clear communication, strong transition planning and legal compliance for students with IEPs ahead of any final vote.