Adios, Aliso Elementary

Aliso Elementary School in Lake Forest will close at the end of the school year.

That was the unanimous decision of the Saddleback Valley Unified school board at an emotional Tuesday evening meeting that lasted well into the night.

More than 100 parents, teachers and students wearing "Save Aliso" T-shirts turned out to oppose the shutdown.

“We have an opportunity to promote this school as our premier technology school, and we’re throwing it away,” said parent Angela Zendejas, who was wearing a “RECALL the SVUSD board” button.

As board members began making comments indicating how they intended to vote, several students sobbed and parents passed tissue boxes around the room.

Trustee Don Sedgwick told the crowd, “This is one of the parts of my job description I didn’t sign up for and don’t enjoy, [but] we’re losing more than double the population of Aliso every year [and] it’s difficult to afford to run 300-student neighborhood schools anymore.”

Trustees acknowledged many arguments against closing the campus, including Aliso's 45-point gain on state API tests last year and its award-winning high-tech program, which uses iPod mini-computers to engage students.

“We aren’t taking into account the incredible gains," board President Suzie R. Swartz said. "I know we’ve all lost sleep over this one. It’s a terrible thing to think about having to close such a school with great synergy. I wish there was another way, but I do not see that there is.”

Closing Aliso will save the district $400,000 a year, according to district officials. Saddleback Unified has the biggest enrollment declines in the county, which costs it $3.8 million annually, school officials said. Currently, SVUSD has an excess capacity of 2,925 spots for elementary school students, according to the district.

What's Next for Students and Teachers

Superintendent Clint Harwick said district officials would meet with teachers and staff at Aliso Elementary on Wednesday morning to help prepare for the transition, and would schedule a parent meeting for Thursday.

Aliso students will transfer to Olivewood, Rancho Canada and Santiago Elementary schools next fall. Harwick said the district would reopen the school-choice process for families at Aliso. Harwick also said current fifth-graders at Aliso could choose to be grouped with their classmates next year.

Emotional Pleas

The vote capped off a long and emotional gathering, in which many implored the board not to shutter Aliso.

“What I’m seeing is a rush to judgment,” Lake Forest City Councilwoman Marcia Rudolph said. “I think you’ve gotten very poor advice from your consultant.”

Sandy Peterson, a teacher at Aliso, dabbed her eyes at the onset of her testimony, quipping, “As my students know, I never make it through Charlotte’s Web either.”

“We are the only school in the district that increased on its same-school ranking,” Peterson said. “We should be the feather in the cap of this district, not slated for school closure.”