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Parents, students and teachers urge CNUSD not to close Caesar Chavez Academy middle grades
Summary
Multiple parents, a student and classroom teachers urged the Corona‑Norco Unified board during public comment to preserve middle‑school grades at Caesar Chavez Academy and related campuses, arguing closures would disrupt community, extracurricular access and student support and asking the district to publish clear net‑savings estimates before changes.
Speakers during public comment urged the Corona‑Norco Unified School District board to reconsider proposals that would remove seventh‑ and eighth‑grade cohorts at Caesar Chavez Academy (CCA) and other campuses.
A parent coalition representative said about 100 parents had organized to "save CCA and HDA," asking the board to seek alternatives to dissolving cohorts and warning that closures would ‘‘rip the heart out of our neighborhood.’’ Fifth‑grader Cole Science told trustees that closing the school would strip students of a safe, supportive environment and mean longer commutes and lost access to after‑school activities. Several parents described CCA as academically strong and culturally important for Hispanic families and urged boundary or programmatic fixes rather than closure.
Commenters also raised district‑level budget priorities earlier in the public‑comment period: a classroom teacher said teachers are "drowning in out‑of‑pocket costs," criticized simultaneous implementation of multiple initiatives and urged redirecting funds from outside legal costs back to classrooms, saying, "We don't have a resource problem. We have a priority problem." Another parent asked the board to publish a clear calculation of the net savings that would result from eliminating the seventh‑through‑eighth‑grade academy, noting the district’s $945 million budget and an estimated 1.3% deficit reported in materials.
The board did not take immediate action during public comment. The staff said the proposed changes and budget will be considered in upcoming study sessions and that items — including the 2026–27 budget and revised LCAP — will return for board consideration at the June 23 meeting.
Speakers requested concrete district follow‑up: transparent cost‑benefit analysis for any closure, preservation of successful programs, and staffing support for special‑education services if programmatic changes proceed.
