Cabrillo school to close, Peabody spared the ax

by Woody LaBounte

The San Francisco Board of Education voted Jan. 19 to close Cabrillo Elementary School in June, ending an 80-year history for the Richmond District institution. George Peabody Elementary School, located on Sixth Avenue, was also slated for closure but will remain open.

"People are in shock," said Cabrillo Principal G. Carole Belle the day after the board's vote. "There's sadness around here, but also hope, because it's not over until it's over."

The Board of Education, facing declining student enrollment and a need to cut $5 million in next year's budget, also decided to close two middle schools and merge four elementary schools on the east side of town. Seven other programs, including the Sunset District's Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program, will move or merge into other campuses.

On Jan. 17, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced legislation to advance the district $5.3 million in Proposition H funds to keep schools such as Cabrillo open. But school board members have said they would reject such an offer because it is a one-time fix to a systemic problem.

Belle, who has been Cabrillo's principal for 15 years, said the official reason the school board gave for closing the school was declining enrollment.

"Our saga began when the Presidio (Army Post) closed down. We used to be bursting at the seams with 440 students, but at the end of three years of phasing out the base we lost half of our kids."

With 246 students, Cabrillo is currently operating at 69 percent of capacity. The school opened in 1926, and would have celebrated its 80th anniversary in the fall. Now, teachers and students will be reassigned to other schools. Children displaced by the school's closure will receive priority in the district's student assignment process for the new school year.

At Peabody, one of the staff members described the mood as "a mixture of relief and elation." Parents had pointed out in community meetings hosted by the school district that the high-performing and well-enrolled campus did not meet the district's criteria for closure. The Board of Education eventually agreed, and after more than 100 years of serving the Richmond, Peabody will remain open.

"A lot of time and energy was spent in the last month on the issue, when we'd rather have focused on teaching and the work in the classroom," said Peabody Principal Willem Vroegh. "But we have an active and vocal parent community who did a great job demonstrating to the board all the great things we're doing here."

Belle described what makes her school special:

"The children are happy, and we have a lot of enrichment programs. Kids always came back (after graduation) to help and to attend events. We have one former student who has been doing his student-teaching here. There are teachers I've known so long, great parents and of course the children. They put a little sparkle, a little brightness in my day."

Belle said she had already decided to retire at the end of the term, but didn't expect the school to end with her tenure.

"The demographics are changing, and families are leaving the area because it's so expensive. It's not our fault," Belle said. "It's like a family breaking up. It's very sad."

Woody LaBounte is director of the Western Neighborhoods Project: www.outsidelands.org.