District hires consultant to guide school-consolidation and closure review

What happened

San Lorenzo Unified approved a consultant to help establish and guide an advisory committee that will recommend whether to consolidate or close school sites. The work is expected to include about eight committee meetings reviewing enrollment and capacity, facilities, educational services, and fiscal and transportation impacts.

Why it matters to families

This moves the district’s previously announced exploration of school closures into a formal review process that could produce recommendations affecting school locations and services. No closure or consolidation has been decided; the consultant’s fee is $39,700 plus expenses, with additional work billed separately.

The evidence

The consultant’s agreement describes a committee tasked with recommendations on school consolidation and/or closure and a proposed scope of approximately eight meetings; it sets a fee of $39,700 plus expenses, with additional meetings billed at $355 per hour per consultant. The June 16 board minutes list the agreement as a consent-calendar item and record approval of the consent calendar. (Documents 124557 and 124432.)

The source