School closures are accelerating across the United States as enrollment falls and education funding tightens, with 1,156 schools closing in the last academic year—the highest number since the pandemic.

Yet closures have not kept pace with enrollment losses: public schools had more than 1.4 million fewer students in 2024 than in fall 2019, a decline of about 3%, while the number of schools fell only to around pre-pandemic levels.

Falling birth rates are the main driver of the enrollment decline, while immigration restrictions and the growth of private-school vouchers and homeschooling have also contributed; researchers estimate the drop could cut state school revenue by $11.5 billion annually by 2030-31.

Vallejo City Unified School District illustrates the pressure: enrollment has fallen by about half, from nearly 18,000 students in 2006 to roughly 9,300, and the district faces a $36 million deficit.

Since 2025, Vallejo has closed five campuses and considered eliminating up to a third of staff positions to address the shortfall.

Superintendent Rubén Aurelio said the closures and cuts are meant to resize a district built for more students and concentrate resources, while Vallejo renovates campuses, promotes programs and sought-after classes, and plans to open a Tagalog-language school to attract families.

The changes have unsettled families: Kimberly Núñez-Brandão said her daughter Penny’s new fifth-grade class had 32 students, making it hard for Penny to concentrate, and the teacher later resigned, leaving the class with a long-term substitute.

Students and staff have also faced crowded classrooms and transition problems at receiving schools; at Glen Cove, classes began with 32 and 34 students, and one parent said her child’s disability records had not followed him to his new school.

Some families are considering or choosing charter and private schools, homeschooling, or neighboring districts, while Vallejo has denied some transfer requests and is trying to show families what its remaining schools offer.

Research cited in the article finds that displaced students can experience lasting declines in reading and math, especially when they move to lower-performing schools.

Closures can also deliver less savings than districts expect because they still incur costs for transporting reassigned students, staff severance, and securing empty buildings, while disruptions can make it harder to recruit teachers.