Elk Grove Unified board caps, closes open-enrollment at several schools for 2026-27

The Elk Grove Unified School District board on Tuesday approved a staff plan to limit open-enrollment transfers at a number of middle and high schools for the 2026-27 school year, citing projected site capacities and anticipated housing-driven growth.

District Director of Enrollment Mr. Schweitzer outlined a data-driven approach that recommends capping the number of students who may transfer out of a single school at 5% and closing or capping a set of schools to preserve neighborhood enrollment and staffing stability. "Once again tonight, I'll recommend that no more than 5% of any school's students be allowed to transfer to another school through open enrollment," he said, and walked trustees through middle- and high-school projections for the coming year.

Under the staff proposal the district recommended capping Harriet Eddy at 50 open-enrollment seats, capping Kasumna's Oaks and Pinkerton at reduced levels, and closing schools projected to be over capacity (including Edward Harris and T.R. Smedberg). For high schools, the plan proposes a 50-seat cap at Kasumna's Oaks and a 100-seat cap at Sheldon; several others were recommended closed to open enrollment to protect neighborhood placements.

Community members urged the board to reconsider boundary and transfer impacts. Rancho Verde residents said proposed assignments would substantially lengthen daily commutes for local students and break established peer groupings. "Under the proposed boundaries, my daughter will be instead attending Cosumnes Oaks and Cosumnes Oaks — that commute is considerably longer," one parent told the trustees, describing travel-time increases by car, bike and on foot and asking the board to allow Toby Johnson and Franklin High School placements where space permits.

Trustees asked staff for clarifications about how redirect decisions and random-selection lotteries would be handled if demand exceeded seats. Schweitzer said the district will monitor enrollment weekly through the spring and will run a random-selection process if required; lists of accepted students would be provided to sites by January 23 and parents notified the week of Feb. 2.

Citing the enrollment data and the goal of maintaining stable programs at neighborhood schools, the board voted to adopt the staff recommendations. The motion passed after board discussion and public comment.

The board president said staff will return in February with full open-enrollment results and parent-survey findings. The district will apply the adopted caps and closures to both open-enrollment applications and the permit process to maintain consistent enrollment levels across years.