Enrollment at San Diego County schools has declined by about five percent, or 27,000 students, over the past decade. One district is already closing schools and its officials are warning others to face the crisis directly.
The people who study demographics and make projections say it’s going to get worse.
Shrinking enrollment in public schools is a trend throughout California, with some schools experiencing only small declines or even slight increases, while most are seeing their student populations decline – some by more than 50 percent over the past 10 years.
What’s going on? The rate of decline peaked during, and immediately after, Covid, but that has slowed down and doesn’t totally account for the overall decline.
Other major reasons include the region’s high cost-of-living and declining birth rates, writes our Jakob McWhinney.
Why it matters: The consequence isn’t just fewer students, it also means less funding and subsequently fewer teachers and fewer resources.
Long-term projections back up those fears; the Department of Finance is projecting the rate of decline to nearly double over the next decade, meaning the County’s schools could lose another 50,000 students.
Mayor: Nah, I Won’t Be Laying Staff Off
Mayor Todd Gloria and his office are making clear none of their employees are on the chopping block.
As part of the new fiscal budget this year, the City Council made the unprecedented move of cutting specific jobs from the mayor’s staff to help address the looming $350 million deficit. The Council specifically cut two employees from the communications department, two deputy chief operating officers, and two management roles in the police and compliance departments.
After a tense back and forth that included a mayoral veto, the Council managed to include the final staff cuts in the budget approved on July 1.
Voice learned the mayor decided not to fire anyone.
“As noted by the City Attorney’s Office, the Mayor alone is responsible for making decisions for his office, which includes the City’s executive team and other mayoral departments,” shared spokesperson Rachel Laing. She added that the mayor will continue to make staffing decisions based on what the mayor thinks is needed to run a responsive and effective city government.
Keeping these positions would cost the city over $1,300,000 annually, but the mayor emphasized those roles are crucial for city operations.
Border Report: Marines Continue Work on Border Wall
Active Marines have been reinforcing various parts of the border wall between California and Mexico with barbed wire.
Voice contributor Kate Morrisey visited the Campo area to see the final days of the reinforcement work for that area. The troops have put in place more than 50 miles of concertina wire in the Imperial Beach and Otay Mesa areas and another nearly 8 miles in Tecate and Campo, Department of Defense officials told Morrissey.
The work is a continuation of border wall construction started during Trump’s first administration. Officials said the troops will keep working on tasks along the border throughout the San Diego Sector as needed.
The taller and more reinforced border wall hasn’t quite stopped migrants from crossing over the years, but has instead resulted in more injuries, Morrissey writes.
In Other News
- The City is opting to not enforce a long-standing summertime ban on roadwork near the coast this year in order to keep projects on schedule. (Union-Tribune)
- An 8-year-old died after being struck by a car while riding an electric scooter in Chula Vista just days after the city imposed some of San Diego County’s most strict e-bike regulations. (NBC7)
- Oops, nevermind! The city of Vista decided to remove some recently installed bike lane barriers after residents strongly opposed the new additions. (CBS 8)
- A San Diego resident filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that it’s attempting to offload the infamous Ash 101 St. building without revealing terms of the leasing agreement for public scrutiny. (CBS 8)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Mariana Martínez Barba and Tessa Balc. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.