Lake Forest Council Opposes Aliso Elementary Shutdown

Local politicians are siding with Lake Forest parents who believe that the imminent closure of , by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board, would be a grave misstep.

Although the has no legal jurisdiction over the district, the council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to ask Saddleback Valley Unified to postpone the planned closure for at least a year.

“This is the highest-performing school in Lake Forest. I understand school districts have to make hard decisions, but I would have capitalized on my shining star," City Councilwoman Kathryn McCullough said. “For me, I know I could never vote to close a school that is shining that brightly. I just can’t believe it is being done.”

A letter expressing those sentiments will be sent to district officials, McCullough said.

The council’s decision took place in front of scores of concerned parents wearing blue T-shirts emblazoned with "Save Aliso" who attended the Tuesday night meeting and asked for the council’s help in achieving their goal of preventing the school's closure, scheduled for June 30.

The City Council’s letter is expected to address several concerns that have been raised by parents from Aliso, including worries that the closure of the school could mean there might not be enough spots in the school district for the children expected to move into the more than 4,000 new homes planned in the city.

Parents are also upset that the district is closing a school that saw its state testing scores rise 45 points last year and is home to an innovative technology program called iEngage.

District officials have said that in the fall.

Some families of students who are being moved from Aliso to Olivewood have said they are upset that the relocation would take students from a school that improved its test scores more than any other of the district's elementary schools last year to an elementary site that is in "program improvement" due to low standardized test scores.

“I have a serious problem with the school district transferring school children from the city’s highest performing school to one that is a step away from having the state step in for low performance,” McCullough said.

Still, she acknowledged that the district could simply disregard the council’s request.

“We can’t tell them how to do their business, just like they can’t tell us how to run our city,” she said.

School district officials reached Wednesday said they were unaware of the council’s vote expressing its position on the issue.

“I don’t think we have a comment until we actually receive the letter,” district spokeswoman Tammy Blakely said.

The district is facing a $20-million deficit, partially as a result of the district's rate of declining enrollment, which is the highest in the county and costs the district $3.8 million annually, officials say.

According to district officials, closing Aliso will save the district $400,000 a year.