Lennox School District trustees could vote to shutter Felton Elementary School during their Tuesday night board meeting.
The six-campus school district, which serves just under 4,000 students between preschool and eighth grade, has been exploring Felton’s closure for months despite concerted opposition from parents.
Lennox Superintendent Gabriela Tavitian said the proposed closure will help the district get a handle on structural budget issues after the district lost more than 1,000 students between 2014 and 2024.
The 364-student elementary school has become a hub for the district’s special education students, Tavitian said, with just over 90 students collected in the school’s special day classes.
“It’s not a good policy,” Tavitian said. “That is not inclusivity. That is not best practice for our students.”
Tavitian said the district has had extra enrollment issues due to gentrification driven by Inglewood’s recent sports entertainment boom. Federal immigration enforcement, she said, has also driven some families to return to their home countries over the last year.
The school board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Jefferson Elementary School cafeteria at 10322 Condon Ave. Board documents are available at lennox.k12.ca.us.
One parent says school closure will do more harm than good
Some Felton parents said the district didn’t do enough analysis before placing the school on the chopping block.
Jose Luis Becerra, the father of a Felton fourth grader, said the district didn’t meet parents in the middle.
“They have a great plan to close the school, but never a plan to keep the school open,” Becerra said.
Becerra said the closure will be harmful for his daughter — who has been in Felton’s special education program since kindergarten — and her classmates. He said Felton developed programs that the district’s other schools simply don’t have.
“It’s not about money sometimes. It’s about the welfare of the kids,” Becerra said.
Isaiah Murtaugh/The LA Local
Lennox is far from the only school district seeing enrollment issues. Between 2014 and 2024, California public school enrollment fell nearly 7%, according to state data. Neighboring Inglewood Unified School District closed Morningside High School earlier this year as it grapples with its own enrollment and financial troubles.
State public school funding is partly tied to headcount, meaning enrollment drops have a direct effect on school bank accounts.
Superintendent explains plans after Felton closure
Tavitian said the district picked Felton because it has the smallest enrollment and would be the “least disruptive” campus to close.
Tavitian said the district plans to relocate Felton’s general education students to nearby Buford Elementary School and that special education students will be scattered through the district’s remaining four elementary campuses.
Tavitian said the closure will lead to the layoff of some support staff and could mean layoffs for a few teachers, depending on how many retire or move on.
Lennox’s teacher and support staff unions did not return respective requests for comment.
What the district will do with the campus won’t yet be decided. Tavitian said she hopes the district will convert the campus into a community center, using state grant funds.
