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Parents and students urge board not to close Cesar Chavez and Home Gardens academies
Summary
Scores of parents, students and community members told the board that closing neighborhood K-8 academies would harm attendance, strip community cohesion and disrupt programs such as dual immersion; they urged alternatives, more study and transparent communication.
Multiple students, parents and community members urged the Corona-Norco Unified School District board to reconsider proposals to close Cesar Chavez Academy and Home Gardens Academy.
"Please do not close our middle school," Dalton Science, a soon-to-be seventh grader, told the board, saying the academies provide a smaller learning environment that helps students thrive. A second child, Cameron Science, said the prospect of closure would interrupt music and choir opportunities and risk attendance for students who walk to school.
Parents emphasized neighborhood-school benefits including shorter commutes, greater family participation and better student attendance. "Neighborhood schools are more than buildings. They are the heart of communities," Monique Rochelle said, asking the board to "recognize that preserving the academies is not just about keeping a campus open."
Other speakers described programmatic differences among campuses and requested mitigations if closures proceed: Jesse King urged reliable late busing and safe transitions for students moved to new sites, and speakers asked the board to consider enrollment-balancing options rather than closures. Several speakers noted recent budget discussions and the board's need for more data on average daily attendance and longer-term demographic projections before making a final decision.
Board members acknowledged the public concern and reiterated that Brown Act timing constrains when the board can formally discuss and vote on closure proposals. One board member said the timeline prevents decisions before the meeting scheduled for July 28, and another asked the public to expect formal discussion when the item appears on an agenda.
What happens next: public speakers asked the board for more outreach and for the district to hold transparent, ongoing communications with families. The transcript does not record a board vote on school closures; speakers asked the board to study alternatives and to present clear data on enrollment and ADA projections before moving forward.
