Can the Morongo Basin still support 11 elementary schools?

The Morongo Unified School District Board (MUSD) of Trustees met on Tuesday (8/25) in a study session to decide the next steps on what to do about declining enrollment in the school district. This is the first meeting on that subject since a dedicated Enrollment Committee of parents, students, teacher and staff presented their recommendations to the school district board last June, saying that school closures should be considered a “last resort” in the search for cost savings and budget reconciliation. 

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services David Daniels led the the presentation which began with enrollment numbers for the 2026 school year. Daniels says that in June enrollment was around 6,900 students, and over the summer that number grew to approximately 7,400 enrolled.

However, that number fell back down to 7,152 students physically in seats on the 10th day of the school year, putting this year’s enrollment numbers in-line with declining enrollment projections.

Each student at a MUSD school is monetarily worth about $16,000, and Daniels says that adds up to a $1.5 million reduction in revenue. Daniels says schools throughout the state are struggling to keep their enrollment numbers up and reported that 73 public schools in California closed in 2026.

While the Enrollment Committee recommended that the Board does everything it can to save money and regain ground on a $7 million deficit, the possibility of closing one of the 11 elementary schools in the district remains on the table. Landers Elementary’s enrollment is dipping dangerously down toward double digits, with only 106 students currently enrolled. If projections for this year are accurate, that number will drop again.

Five scenarios presented

Daniels laid out five scenarios in the study session: keeping all schools open and readjusting school boundaries for improved balance, as well as expanding Joshua Tree Elementary to grades TK through 8th grade.

Scenarios 2, 3, and 4 involved closing Landers, Palm Vista, or Morongo Valley Elementary respectively and moving those students into other neighboring schools. The fifth scenario was the most drastic and least discussed, suggesting closing all three elementary schools and readjusting boundaries.

Amongst the dozens of considerations discussed for each of the scenarios – student transportation provided some insight into the complications of consolidation. Bus routes would have to be readjusted for some scenarios and in some cases added, costing the school district roughly $150,000 for each additional bus route.

The 11 elementary schools were well-supported during the 2021 “pandemic boom” when enrollment numbers and projections sharply increased. Those numbers then settled back down as families moved back out of the area or enrolled their child in home schooling.

Board members bounced ideas back and forth during the discussions, often reminding each other that saving money shouldn’t be the only consideration in any of the proposed scenarios. School consolidations could also impact things like student bus ride times, classroom size, resource allocation, and other quality-of-life considerations that are difficult to assign a dollar amount to.

Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Dr. Gracie Gutierrez also reminded the board that the reduced budget could also negatively impact programming and educational opportunities, too.

Can Landers Elementary be saved?

As the study session moved into its third hour it became clear that school consolidation was still a very real possibility for the district, as it wrestled with the reality of enrollment numbers that just don’t support the number of schools.

Optimal school size and structure is around 400 to 450 students per school, and currently only four elementary schools approach or exceed that threshold. When enrollment drops to less than that, the school begins draining the budget rather than adding to it, leading to less teachers and staff and more combo classes for students.

At what point does the district consider closing a school based just on those enrollment numbers? No one had an answer to the question on Tuesday, and no decisions were going to be made that morning. However, indicators pointed at Landers Elementary School still being the prime candidate for a possible closure.

The MUSD has set two future meetings to explore that possibility further with parents and residents in Landers. A meeting at Landers Elementary is set for September 10th, with another meeting at Yucca Mesa Elementary set for September 22. The district will contact parents through each of the schools for the September meetings.

You can view a PDF of the entire presentation here.

Public Comments

The possibility of considering school closures still didn’t sit well with two parents who showed up to the 8:30 a.m. meeting and provided their public comments.

We’ve included transcriptions of their comments below.