By Vanguard Staff
DAVIS, Calif. — For more than a decade, resident student enrollment in the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) has steadily declined due to lower birth rates and the high cost of housing in Davis.
Recent enrollment trends show that without new housing development, DJUSD could lose about 1,000 students over the next 10 years, in addition to the 300-student drop since 2019.
Such a decline would put pressure on finances and school programs and could require the closure of one to three schools within that timeframe.
To address this challenge and plan for a sustainable future, DJUSD is hosting three community outreach meetings to share detailed information and present two possible school closure concepts to address the “worst-case” scenario of a 1,000-student decline over the coming decade to be implemented no earlier than the 2028-29 school year.
These meetings will also offer participants the opportunity to share their ideas and provide feedback that will help inform future decisions.
Superintendent Matt Best emphasized the importance of collaborative decision-making and open conversation.
“We know that conversations about school closures are deeply personal — and rightfully so, as no one wants to close schools, including me,” Best said.
Best added, “Our schools are the heart of our community. But as we face continued enrollment declines, we have to think carefully and strategically about how to sustain high-quality programs and opportunities for every student. This is not the time to panic, but a time to come to the table, to learn about the challenges, and to help shape the solutions. We want to make these decisions with our community and ensure that whatever path we choose keeps DJUSD strong for generations to come.”
DJUSD’s community outreach presentation unveils two concepts for public feedback to deal with declining enrollment.
Concept A is designed to have localized impacts focused more on the challenge directly ahead in the next three years. The concept includes the closure of Patwin Elementary School operations in the 2028-29 school year and the relocation of the Davis School for Independent Study (DSIS) to the Patwin campus. Under this concept, it is understood that one or more additional school closures would be likely in the years ahead.
Concept B is focused districtwide and addresses longer-term decline. This concept would, in the 2028-29 school year, close both Patwin Elementary School and Birch Lane Elementary School; transition all sixth-grade students in DJUSD to junior high campuses; move Da Vinci Junior High students to the Da Vinci High School campus; and relocate DSIS to either the Patwin or Birch Lane campus. A key difference with Concept B is that, under current projections, this approach would not require a junior high closure within the decade because it is a more comprehensive reconfiguration designed to align facilities and staffing to a smaller district footprint sooner.
Best shared more details, data, and rationale for these concepts but clearly stated, “These concepts are likely going to evolve over time with the feedback we receive from our community and the changing realities we face. Our community has some agency to impact the worst-case scenario if new housing is built in time, but we must begin worst-case scenario planning.”
The DJUSD community outreach presentation was first shared with trustees at the special Board of Education meeting on the evening of Thursday, October 30, so board members could preview the presentation before it was taken to the public.
The worst-case-scenario concepts presented in the session reflect early ideas and are not final recommendations. Starting the first week of November, the presentation will be shared with students, staff, families, and community members at three in-person community outreach meetings where the community is invited to provide feedback for shaping the ultimate path forward.
Community Outreach Schedule:
November 3, 2025: Davis Senior High All Student Center, 6–8 p.m.
November 5, 2025: Emerson Junior High Indoor Commons, 6–8 p.m.
November 13, 2025: Da Vinci Charter Academy Tech Hub, 6–8 p.m.
Anyone from the Davis community is welcome to attend any of the in-person meetings. For those unable to attend in person, additional information, a pre-recorded virtual session, and digital feedback forms will be available after October 30 at www.djusd.net/BoundaryOutreach.
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“worst-case scenario”
(I assume this is the one where DJUSD convinces Davis voters to approve sprawl, so that they can literally poach entire non-resident families to live in Davis – instead of where they’re currently living. And if they’re currently living in Woodland, for example, they’re ALREADY ATTENDING Davis schools – so that’s not going to help DJUSD in regard to their preference to ignore reality to in order to save their own jobs.)
These people (some of them at least) are an immoral, self-centered bunch. And yet, some trust them to educate their own kids.