School Consolidation Study

April 16, 2025: Consolidation Committee Update Presentation

June 18, 2025: Study Session Presentation

OUSD's Consolidation Committee is made up of diverse community members representing parents, staff, and stakeholders from across the district. The committee has already met and will reconvene in the fall with updated data and additional community input.

To support this important work, OUSD has engaged King Consulting, an established school facility planning firm with extensive experience in districtwide planning. King Consulting will provide:

• Comprehensive data analysis of enrollment trends, facilities use, and capacity

• Planning services to help the district evaluate options for school consolidation

• Expert guidance to ensure decisions are based on accurate information and best practices

Through this partnership, OUSD will be better equipped to make informed, student-centered decisions while ensuring the process is transparent, collaborative, and grounded in community input.

An Asset Management Plan is a strategic approach to maximizing resources to enhance student learning experiences while maintaining responsible stewardship of public funds. Orange Unified's Asset Management Plan ensures that every district resource - from school buildings to educational programs - is optimized to provide the best possible education for students in the most fiscally responsible manner. This includes:

• Enhanced Learning Environments: Ensuring facilities support modern educational needs through strategic investment of available funding in high-impact improvements
• Expanded Program Opportunities: Creating capacity for specialized programs like GATE, dual language, arts, and career pathways by efficiently concentrating resources where they serve the most students
• Strategic Investment: Prioritizing facility improvements and educational resources where they will have the greatest impact on student success while maximizing available funding and revenue generating resources
• Future Planning: Ensuring district assets can adapt to evolving student needs while maintaining long-term financial sustainability

The Asset Management Plan represents responsible governance - using available funding and revenue-generating resources strategically to provide students with the highest quality educational opportunities while demonstrating accountability to the community.

There is a separate asset management process that determines next steps for any facilities that may be closed. This process operates independently from the consolidation study.

School consolidation within the Asset Management Plan is designed to enhance student educational experiences while ensuring responsible use of available funding and revenue-generating resources. This dual focus creates sustainable benefits for both students and the community:

Enhanced Student Opportunities Through Efficient Resource Use:

• Stronger Programs: Consolidation eliminates the inefficiency of duplicated small programs, allowing resources to create robust specialized offerings like advanced academics and comprehensive special education services
• Better Facilities: Concentrating students allows for focused facility investments that provide upgraded learning environments rather than spreading limited funding across underutilized buildings
• Increased Educational Options: Larger student populations enable cost-effective delivery of diverse programs, competitive athletics, and expanded extracurricular activities
• Fiscal Responsibility That Benefits Students: Strategic consolidation allows the district to redirect operational savings directly into student success - facility modernization, expanded program offerings, and enhanced educational resources.

Additionally, consolidation creates opportunities for vacant facilities to become revenue-generating assets through strategic property management, lease agreements, or community partnerships. These additional revenue streams can be reinvested directly into educational programs and student services.

This approach demonstrates that responsible financial stewardship and excellent student outcomes are complementary goals, ensuring that every dollar of available funding and revenue-generating resources - including income from repurposed facilities - delivers maximum benefit to students while maintaining long-term district sustainability.

Orange Unified, like almost all public school districts in California, has experienced significant declining enrollment. OUSD has seen an enrollment decline of approximately 15% since 2014-15, creating underutilized facilities that limit the enhancement of educational program opportunities. When enrollment declines significantly, a responsible Board reviews the most effective uses of district facilities and staff to provide the best learning opportunities for all students.

Declining enrollment creates several challenges:

• A significant number of combination classes due to fewer students across grade levels
• Inequitable class sizes across schools
• Limited program variety 
• Reduced teacher collaboration opportunities
• Inefficient use of district resources that could be redirected to enhance academic programs

The Superintendent's Committee was formed to conduct a comprehensive study of consolidation options within Orange Unified's four high school feeder patterns. The committee includes parents, staff, and site administrators from each feeder pattern.  The Committee’s role is to:

• Analyze enrollment and capacity data
• Review transportation and facilities considerations
• Examine educational program opportunities
• Provide consolidation options to the Board of Education

The Committee includes stakeholders from all four high school feeder patterns: Canyon, El Modena, Orange, and Villa Park. Members include parents, classified staff, certificated staff, and site administrators, ensuring broad representation from across the District.  District staff serve as facilitators. 

The Committee has conducted a comprehensive analysis of schools within each of Orange Unified's four high school feeder patterns (Canyon, El Modena, Orange, and Villa Park). While options have been identified in each feeder pattern, no final decisions have been made. The committee is reconvening with the assistance of a professional consulting firm to provide additional expertise and analysis before making final recommendations to the Board of Education.

This study process ensures that all potential consolidation scenarios are thoroughly evaluated based on educational benefits, facility capacity, transportation considerations, and community impact before any recommendations are presented to the Board.

The Committee follows guidelines similar to Assembly Bill 1219, which requires analysis of:

• Physical condition and operating costs of facilities
• Capacity to accommodate students through boundary adjustments
• Transportation needs for general and special education students
• Student demographics to enhance educational opportunities
• Environmental factors affecting student safety

Strategic consolidation could provide:

• Elimination of most or all combination classes
• Increased program variety 
• Enhanced teacher collaboration opportunities
• More efficient use of resources for facility improvements
• Expanded educational program offerings 

The consolidation study follows a three-phase approach: Awareness and Study, Transition, and Implementation.

Completed Tasks:

• January 23, 2025: Board approved consolidation study
• April 28 - June 2, 2025: Initial committee meetings (5 sessions)
• June 18, 2025: Staff presented findings to the Board of Education

The committee is reconvening with the support of a professional consulting firm to provide additional analysis and expertise. Thus, at the moment, the timeline is fluid and will depend on the options developed.

Updates and next steps regarding timelines will be provided as the process continues. The District remains committed to thorough analysis and meaningful community engagement before finalizing any recommendations.

Any implementation would only occur at the start of a new school year, ensuring no disruption during an active academic year.  

Community input is essential throughout this process.  While the work is still in the hands of the committee, community input opportunities will include:

• Participating in community surveys
• Attending public hearings
• Providing input during Board of Education meetings
• Reviewing updates on the District website

Staffing decisions are based on enrollment and budget considerations. The District works closely with certificated and classified bargaining units to discuss impacts and communicate with affected staff members.  However, currently, there is no need for layoffs, and attrition is closely monitored as part of the staffing process to minimize the potential for layoffs. 

This study focuses on strategic consolidation to enhance educational opportunities rather than simply closing schools. The goal is to redirect resources toward improved academic programs, modernized facilities, expanded student services, and strong community connections.

The Board of Education will make final decisions after receiving the committee's options and community input. Any consolidation would not be implemented until August 2026 at the earliest, ensuring no disruption during an active school year.

Transportation plans will be developed based on final consolidation decisions, following District policies for route distances and environmental safety factors.