US school closures rise amid enrollment drops and funding cuts

The United States saw 1,156 school closures during the last academic year, marking the highest number since the pandemic, according to an analysis by Big Local News at Stanford University reported by Newsday.

These closures are driven by a multidecade decline in birth rates and reductions in state and federal education funding, leading cash-strapped districts to consolidate campuses to save money, Newsday reported.

Vallejo City Unified School District near San Francisco exemplifies this trend, serving half as many students as it did twenty years ago. Since 2025, the district has closed five campuses, representing a quarter of its schools, and cut up to a third of staff positions to address a $36 million deficit, according to Newsday.

Despite these measures, research cited by Newsday indicates that school closures often do not produce the financial relief districts anticipate, and enrollment is falling faster than schools are closing, suggesting further financial challenges ahead.

Other large districts in cities such as Cleveland, Houston, and Philadelphia are facing similar pressures and closures, according to Newsday's reporting in partnership with The Hechinger Report and Big Local News at Stanford University.