It is a fact of life—California government school enrollment is plummeting. Since 2019 we have lost 400,000 students. By 2031, we might lose another one million—and that is after the illegal aliens replace some of the lost students. This means schools are going to close. Some will become housing, some commercial property, some will become community centers.
Santa Clarita is a cautionary tale. The parents do not want the school closed and they definitely do not want low-cost housing. We all know that in a few years low-cost housing becomes a slum—and crime goes up.
“Wednesday evening, around 100 adversarial parents and property owners made their disgruntlement loudly known, prompting the advisory committee to move the public comment portion outside in an attempt to accommodate the crowd.
Major complaints centered around traffic issues, how “low-income” housing would impact crime rates and property values, and who would be living in the proposed housing.
“I’ve seen this coming for a long time,” said Cardon Ellis, a 30-year resident and Santa Clarita Elementary alumn of the ruckus. “They’ve closed the school, that will not change. So now the question is, what will it become?”
Note that the district is giving the parents the plan—they never asked before hand what that community wanted. Typical government.
Residents In Uproar Over Proposed Low-Cost Housing At Santa Clarita Elementary Site
Jade Aubuchon | KHTS News, 9/19/24 https://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/education/saugus-union-school-district/residents-in-uproar-over-proposed-low-cost-housing-at-santa-clarita-elementary-site-521291
Residents In Uproar Over Proposed Low-Cost Housing At Santa Clarita Elementary Site
A large group of disgruntled parents and property owners descended upon Santa Clarita Elementary school Wednesday night to share their concerns about the site being turned into low-cost housing for educators.
The Saugus Union School District (SUSD) Asset Management Advisory Committee was set to take a site tour of Santa Clarita Elementary School on Seco Canyon Road in Saugus on Wednesday. However, the planned agenda for the meeting was curtailed by the large number of parents and nearby property owners who came to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting, many concerned by news that the district was considering building “low-income housing” at the site.
Wednesday evening, around 100 adversarial parents and property owners made their disgruntlement loudly known, prompting the advisory committee to move the public comment portion outside in an attempt to accommodate the crowd.
Major complaints centered around traffic issues, how “low-income” housing would impact crime rates and property values, and who would be living in the proposed housing.
“I’ve seen this coming for a long time,” said Cardon Ellis, a 30-year resident and Santa Clarita Elementary alumn of the ruckus. “They’ve closed the school, that will not change. So now the question is, what will it become?”
No members of the SUSD governing board were present on Wednesday evening, which quickly devolved into a heckling session as members of the crowd interrupted other attendees’ granted time to make public comments.
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Made up of community members and two SUSD employees, the current Asset Management Advisory Committee is a group of volunteers who are responsible for reviewing the property, hearing concerns, and forwarding a recommendation report to the SUSD Board to make decisions.
“I do not like what the Governing Board did to the Advisory Committee. There were no members of the board there and they should have known that there would be major public blowback. They threw them to the wolves,” Ellis said.
Among other options, SUSD is considering using the property where Santa Clarita Elementary is currently located to provide low-cost housing for district staff.
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The 9.3 acre property at the northwest corner of Seco Canyon Road and Decoro Drive, became available after the district determined that closing the school would be in their best interest due to a decrease in enrollment and it did not make financial sense to retrofit the brick building to meet seismic code criteria.
In a previous KHTS story, Matt Watson, who represents Trustee Area 4, said the decision to vote to close the school was a tough one due to his status as a Santa Clarita Elementary alum.
“If I were to base my decision tonight on my personal, positive experiences, the decision would be easy,” Watson said. “But as trustees, we have to make decisions, sometimes very difficult decisions, based on what we feel is in the best interest of the school district as a whole. And with all of the issues that our school is facing, and all that it would take to continue on, it doesn’t look like that’s possible.”
Santa Clarita elementary was met with resistance by local parents, many of which were enraged by the decision, stating that the close access to an elementary school was part of the reasoning behind their choice to live in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The current evaluation process for establishing low-cost housing in the Santa Clarita area comes as a reaction to the ongoing issues with both housing availability and teacher shortages, as educators are priced out of the same higher income neighborhoods that seek their services.
The advisory committee elected to forgo the site tour and presentation Wednesday evening, and stated that there would be an additional meeting arranged by the district to allow for additional comment period for the public.
A date has not been announced as of Thursday morning.
