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School closures

At least 1 in 58 of the 4,162 school board meetings we read in the past year dealt with school closures.

Spreadsheet: all 4,162 meetings read, 98 marked yes
2.3%of meetings (90% range of our count 1.7%⁠–⁠3.0%)
98meetings
59districts

We catch about 4 in 10 meetings that discuss this (90% range 34%⁠–⁠47%); counts are floors. Counted on the stricter word rule, not the whole-transcript read behind the other issues, so it isn't set beside them.

Clips

Board members on school closures

We just need to keep it safe and functional, and I believe that $4 million or less is more than enough to do exactly that. We are being asked to close the school before we even agree on what it actually costs to fix it.Scott MuellerBoard member · Belvidere CUSD 100 Board of Education · Apr 9, 2026Watch the full meeting from 2:28:01
  • Does that come from money that was going to be saved by the school closures? …Carlos FloresVice President · Vallejo City Unified Board of Education · Jan 14, 2026Watch the full meeting from 1:50:10
  • I don't want the consolidation process or the even boundary process for that matter, be informed where we want to make a school qualifies for Title I or make a school disqualifies for Title I.Sami Al-AbdrabbuhBoard Member · Corvallis School Board · Nov 10, 2025Watch the full meeting from 1:30:45
  • I really hope that we have, or you have, some really convincing data and experiences that says to this and any other school district that stopping use of some buildings is actually going to make our educational program better.Charlie EasthamBoard member · Iowa City Community School District Board of Education · Apr 1, 2026Watch the full meeting from 1:13:44
By state

Meetings where we found school closures, state by state

Of the 4,162 checked meetings the issue check read since Nov 1, 2025 · alphabetical, not ranked: we haven't measured how much of each state our count catches, so states can't be compared on these floors · the quiet band is each state's 90% range · a state needs 30+ meetings from 5+ districts, and a state that is mostly one district is named with that district

  1. California8.4% · 4%⁠–⁠13% · 342 mtgs
  2. Colorado0.0% · 0%⁠–⁠4% · 68 mtgs
  3. Florida11.4% · 3%⁠–⁠18% · 35 mtgs
  4. Georgia5.8% · 0%⁠–⁠17% · 34 mtgs
  5. Illinois1.8% · 0%⁠–⁠5% · 215 mtgs
  6. Indiana1.2% · 0%⁠–⁠4% · 156 mtgs
  7. Iowa0.0% · 0%⁠–⁠5% · 59 mtgs
  8. Kentucky0.0% · 0%⁠–⁠8% · 33 mtgs
  9. Minnesota0.0% · 0%⁠–⁠3% · 116 mtgs
  10. Missouri0.0% · 0%⁠–⁠3% · 100 mtgs
  11. Montana0.0% · 0%⁠–⁠7% · 37 mtgs
  12. New York0.4% · 0%⁠–⁠1% · 478 mtgs
  13. Ohio0.8% · 0%⁠–⁠2% · 248 mtgs
  14. Texas7.8% · 3%⁠–⁠14% · 241 mtgs
  15. Washington1.6% · 0%⁠–⁠4% · 124 mtgs
  16. Wisconsin2.1% · 0%⁠–⁠5% · 231 mtgs
All 47 states
  1. Alabama— 25 meetings read
  2. Alaska— 9 meetings read
  3. Arizona— 7 meetings read
  4. Arkansas— 7 meetings read
  5. Connecticut— mostly one district: Milford School District, 1 of 1 meeting
  6. Delaware— 4 meetings read
  7. Idaho— 19 meetings read
  8. Kansas— mostly one district: Shawnee Mission Public Schools Unified School District, 1 of 1 meeting
  9. Louisiana— mostly one district: East Baton Rouge Parish School District, 1 of 1 meeting
  10. Maine— 10 meetings read
  11. Maryland— mostly one district: Montgomery County Public Schools, 1 of 1 meeting
  12. Massachusetts— 5 meetings read
  13. Michigan— mostly one district: Grant Public School District, 1 of 1 meeting
  14. Mississippi— 16 meetings read
  15. Nebraska— 11 meetings read
  16. Nevada— 17 meetings read
  17. New Hampshire— 26 meetings read
  18. New Jersey— mostly one district: Neptune Township School District, 2 of 5 meetings
  19. New Mexico— 24 meetings read
  20. North Carolina— mostly one district: Gaston County Schools, 1 of 3 meetings
  21. North Dakota— 18 meetings read
  22. Oklahoma— 11 meetings read
  23. Oregon— mostly one district: Corvallis School District 509J, 4 of 13 meetings
  24. Pennsylvania— mostly one district: Palisades School District, 1 of 8 meetings
  25. South Carolina— 18 meetings read
  26. South Dakota— 6 meetings read
  27. Tennessee— mostly one district: Hickman County School District, 1 of 3 meetings
  28. Utah— 21 meetings read
  29. Virginia— mostly one district: Bedford County Public Schools, 2 of 2 meetings
  30. West Virginia— 9 meetings read
  31. Wyoming— 24 meetings read
The map

Every district we read, sized by how many of its meetings discussed school closures

Austin ISD, TX 7Los Angeles Unified, CA 6Oakland Unified, CA 5

One point per district at its Census location · 9 of 1,114 districts have no Census point · one colour, no sides · How we count

Discussed, and who came to speak

Where school closures came up, against how many members of the public speak

131030100+Typical district 0%Many speakers, rarely discussedMany speakers, often discussedOften discussed, few speakersPublic speakers per meeting ↑↑ Public speakers per meetingSan Francisco Unified 33%, 32.3 a meetingLos Angeles Unified 31%, 30.9 a meetingFort Worth ISD 33%, 30.1 a meetingAustin ISD 70%, 21.5 a meetingDavis Joint Unified 36%, 9.7 a meeting
← Less often on school closuresMore of its meetings →

Also discussed at 34 more districts where we read fewer than 6 meetings:

In the news

At least 910 news articles found by search, Oct 29, 2025 to Oct 28, 2026

Districts that discussed it most

Austin ISD discussed it at 7 meetings, more than any other district.

7 of 10Austin ISD TXmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings6 of 19Los Angeles Unified CAmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings5 of 22Oakland Unified CAmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings4 of 11Davis Joint Unified CAmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings4 of 13Corvallis School District 509J ORmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings3 of 3Ventura Unified CAmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings3 of 5Vallejo City Unified CAmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings3 of 9Fort Worth ISD TXmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings3 of 11San Angelo ISD TXmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings2 of 2Bedford County Public Schools VAmeetings that discussed it, of the district’s meetings
The meetings behind this number

All 98 meetings, newest first

Showing the newest 98

Spreadsheet: all 4,162 meetings read, 98 marked yes