By: Eye On Inglewood Staff Writer
Dionne Faulk, the City of Inglewood District 4 Councilwoman, stated in her monthly newsletter. Councilwoman Faulk, the incumbent, is seeking re-election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, and is a former member of the Inglewood Unified School District Board
Statement by Councilwomen Faulk:
On March 20, 2024, Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) made the difficult decision to close five schools (Crozier Junior High, Hudnall TK-6, Highland TK-6, Kelso TK-6, and Morningside High School), effective at the end of this school year. I have been in conversations with IUSD County Administrator Dr. Morris and discussed the transition plan for a seamless transition for our students and families to School. To our Morningside families, we are all here to support you.
In 2012, IUSD went into receivership because the State of California issued an emergency loan to keep the doors open. IUSD has made significant efforts to reclaim local control and
continues progressing toward that goal. As a former IUSD School Board member, I will share with you that Inglewood students have always been the first and foremost priority of the
County Administrators, School Board members, Cabinet and Staff. We care about our students and their success. Wanting to do what's right for IUSD students and maintaining our schools.'
stability is what drives tough decisions every day.
Do we want to close schools?" Of course not. We want all of our schools to stay open and thrive. When our School District was thriving, we had approximately 18,000 students.
Unfortunately, this number has slowly dwindled to roughly half the number of students IUSD once had. Ultimately, operating a school District with space for 18,000 but only 7,000+ students enrolled is unsustainable. We must find a way to streamline the bills, and
we can't afford to pay for underutilized facilities.
This is part of the difficult steps of exiting receivership, paying off the emergency loan, and returning local control to our IUSD School
Board. IUSD has been in receivership since 2012, and now, ten years later, it is time for change.
As a parent, I know we all strive for stability for our children, and we want that for the students at lUSD. It will take all of us working together to make sure that we support our students through the transition. We Are Inglewood. We are their village, so please join me as I stand with and support the Inglewood Unified School
District Administration and our IUSD students.
Inglewood Unified County Administrator Dr. James Morris addresses the public during a live video meeting on March 20, 2024
"The data tells the story," said Dr. Morris. "We're operating more schools than we can afford to maintain. To remain competitive, improve instruction, and ensure the schools that remain open are in good condition, we need to close some of our existing campuses."
The schools that will be closed at the end of the 2024-25 school year are Crozier Junior High School, Hudnall TK-6 Elementary School, Highland TK-6 Elementary School, Morningside High School, and Kelso TK-6 Elementary School. This decision comes after the district had already closed three schools since 2019.
Inglewood parents continue to voice concern about the planned school closures
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