Vallejo City Unified outlines Phase 2 closure review as community raises concerns about impacts

Vallejo City Unified Superintendent Ruben Aurelio opened a town hall Monday evening to explain Phase 2 of the district's school-closure and consolidation review and solicit community feedback, saying the district faces an estimated $15 million gap for 2026–27 and another $16 million for 2027–28 if revenue or reductions are not identified.

Aurelio, who identified himself as superintendent, said staff have identified seven candidate schools for study — Cooper, Federal Terrace, Highland, the John Finney Education Complex, Lincoln, Pennycook and Stephen Manor — but emphasized these campuses are under review, not slated for immediate closure. He told attendees the school board, not staff, will make any final decisions and that he expects the board to consider recommendations and evidence at a meeting tentatively set for Dec. 17, with changes, if approved, taking effect for the 2026–27 school year.

The superintendent framed the review in fiscal and enrollment terms: he said the district's current enrollment is about 9,600 students (down from more than 11,000 in 2020) and that the district must identify roughly $32 million over two years through revenue or budget reductions. "Our annual budget is roughly $200,000,000," Aurelio said, and site-utilization is about 51 percent — well under a typical target of 85 percent — which prompted the staff review of consolidation options. He also cited program offerings at neighboring districts (for example, Mandarin-language instruction) as drivers of student transfers and said data are being used to evaluate where program changes could retain students.

Community speakers repeatedly urged the district to weigh program continuity, student supports and facility conditions in any consolidation plans. "If we move our campus, it's going to be a loss because of transportation," said Judith Klaus, a mental-health support staffer at the John Finney Education Complex, citing a high number of McKinney-Vento students who rely on nearby bus routes. Cynthia Mack, an adult-transition teacher at John Finney, said the complex houses five specialized programs that operate together and warned that repeated relocations would harm students; she also raised concerns about mold and parking at a potential receiving campus.

Longtime teacher Laurie Tackmeyer challenged the district's space-counting method and financial assumptions, saying rooms flagged as "empty" are often used for services such as speech therapy, special programs and arts instruction. "We are more than numbers," Tackmeyer said, questioning whether combining smaller schools into large "super schools" would actually serve students' needs. A parent from Federal Terrace said her child had improved markedly this year and urged the district not to close schools that are showing early signs of progress.

Aurelio said the district is also pursuing internal cost controls — freezing some expenditures, evaluating contracts and programs and considering leasing or selling surplus properties — to lessen fiscal pressure. He asked the public to "think VCUSD first," and noted that a 1 percent increase in attendance districtwide is worth roughly $1 to $1.5 million in annual revenue because budgets are driven by average daily attendance.

The district will post a draft Equity Impact Analysis by Friday, deliver that draft to the board at next week's meeting, and include public input in a final version planned for November. Aurelio said the board will hold public study sessions beginning Sept. 24 and that the community will have opportunities for public comment at those meetings.

No votes or formal actions were taken at the town hall; the session was a public information and input meeting intended to inform the district's forthcoming recommendations to the board. "We're not making decisions tonight," Aurelio said. "We are taking the information that we hear, and it will be incorporated into the equity impact analysis."