School Board Votes to Eliminate Classes at Carpinteria Family School Ahead of Permanent Closure

Parental disapproval was at the forefront of the Carpinteria Unified School Board meeting on Tuesday, as the board considered whether to downsize Carpinteria Family School before it closes for good next year. 

After a lengthy discussion between board members, the motion to permanently cut two of the three classrooms at the small, 23-year-old school passed with a chorus of crestfallen ayes. Board President Jaime Diamond got choked up, having to pause and take a moment to breathe and compose herself before voting. Prior to voting, the board tried to think of other options but ultimately accepted the staff recommendation to eliminate the two classrooms.

“I’m just gonna say, this sucks. It does. It super sucks,” Diamond said. “I don’t like it. I get nothing from thinking of having to do something like this.”

Budget constraints, declining enrollment at the school and in the district, increased enrollment in dual language classrooms, and increased space for Carpinteria transfers to Summerland school were listed as reasons to not replace the school’s K/1 and 2/3 teachers. 

That leaves just one combination classroom for grades 4 and 5 for the 2025-26 school year. Going into the previous school year, the school had 45 students. In the upcoming year, it will have only 23. The cuts will save the district $360,000 and put the school on track to closing. 

“Because we have declining enrollment at all our school sites, those 45 students can be served currently at Aliso, Canalino, and Summerland without incurring additional costs,” said Superintendent Diana Rigby during Tuesday’s meeting.

If the district kept it running as is, the school would have cost $500,000 to operate, according to Rigby.

She added that the district may have closed the school this year had it not been for Lorilee Collins — the school’s one remaining teacher who has worked there for 20 years — who asked to keep it open for one more year.

According to the board report, 2nd-grade Family School students will move to the same Canalino 3rd-grade class while 3rd-grade students will enter the 4th- and 5th-grade class. It also suggests that keeping the school open for one more year will allow rising 5th-grade students to “promote from CFS and provide parents with ample time to make decisions about their students.”

Parents have been advocating for the school’s future since the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, when they were informed that the joint kindergarten and 1st-grade classroom was cut due to low enrollment. Students who initially registered for that class had just one week to enroll elsewhere. 

In February, parents were informed that the 2nd- and 3rd-grade classroom was at risk because the current teacher was retiring. To them, this week’s decision felt like delivering the final blow. 

Parents and students who spoke at the meeting were frustrated and heartbroken. 

Sailor, a 9-year-old going into 4th grade at the school, said that when she heard Family School was “shutting down” she was “devastated.” She said she was already sad because her 3rd-grade teacher was retiring. 

“Family School is really fun. On Family Friday, we all get together to do fun things,” she said. 

Parents lamented that their kids’ close-knit school community was on the chopping block. Some parents, such as Jack Mohr, even offered to step up and volunteer their time to try to help increase enrollment and keep the school open.

Lyca Morril, who has two sons attending Family School, was teary-eyed as she spoke to the board. “We love this school and are devastated by the possibility that it might no longer be available to our family and community,” she said. “This school is unique and special and should be promoted and supported for our children’s education.”

The district is facing some serious budget constraints due to a myriad of reasons, including legal battles and a new labor contract with school employees. Recently, sexual abuse cases from 50 years ago resurfaced, with the victims seeking restitution that the district would be strapped to pay. Family School may just be one of the first casualties as the district navigates future financial challenges.