Fountain Valley schools committee to meet on closing a campus

The Fountain Valley School District’s School Boundaries & Closure Committee has decided on 10 criteria for choosing a campus to recommend closing at the end of next school year.

At its Tuesday meeting, the committee — which consists of parents, staff and community members — narrowed a list of 18 possible criteria down to a final 10.

The committee will rank the district’s schools on current enrollment, projected declining enrollment, unused classrooms, campus size, intra-district transfers percentage, proximity to the closest school, proximity to a major intersection or freeway, travel distance, potential to lose students to neighboring districts and whether students or attendance areas have been impacted by previous school closures.

Stephen McMahon, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, said the committee will begin evaluating the schools at its next meeting June 21.

The district formed the committee to look into closing a campus as a way of saving money. Officials say the district could save about $400,000 annually by reducing the number of schools by one.

—Michael Miller