The Morongo Unified School District Enrollment Committee met March 4 to continue its review of district enrollment trends and begin developing a framework to guide potential future decisions about school facilities.
During the meeting, district staff presented information on long-term enrollment trends and the impact declining enrollment has on school operations and programming. The presentation highlighted that enrollment has declined over several decades, mirroring statewide trends in California.
Staff explained that smaller school populations can make it difficult to sustain a wide range of academic programs and support services. Even schools with relatively small enrollments must maintain core staffing positions such as principals, office staff, custodial staff and food service personnel. As a result, specialized instructional and support programs often have to be shared across multiple campuses resulting in minimal programming.
Community members also provided public comment, sharing perspectives on how potential district decisions could affect students and families. Speakers emphasized the importance of carefully considering the impacts on school communities, including students’ learning environments, school capacity and transitions that could result from any future changes.
Following the presentation, committee members began reviewing a draft decision-making matrix intended to help evaluate potential options such as school consolidation and other facility-related changes. After discussion, committee members determined that additional information would be needed before moving forward with the evaluation process. The committee agreed to schedule further informational meetings to gather more data and allow for continued discussion before applying the decision-making framework to potential scenarios.
The Enrollment Committee will continue its work in upcoming meetings as it reviews data and develops recommendations that will eventually be presented to the Morongo Unified School District Board of Education. For more information visit: https://www.morongousd.com/page/enrollment-committee