Board members vote to close Adams Elementary

Desert Sands Unified School District Board members voted 4-1 to close John Adams Elementary School in La Quinta Tuesday evening.

Board members claimed not enough young families are moving into the area to support John Adams Elementary School in the future.

The school will be shout down after the end of this school year.

Students had made and hung up paper cranes on street signs throughout the city, near hiking trails and in Jule’s Neighborhood Market down the street before the district board meeting.

It was their last chance to stop John Adams Elementary from closing.

“My wish is that they never close the school,” said third grader Enrique Beltran.

In November, DSUSD proposed the school closure because there were too many schools and not enough students in the area.

To deal with declining enrollment, DSUSD Superintendent Dr. Gary Rutherford reportedly planned to recommend closing the school and the school board would decide its fate Tuesday night.

“My daughter’s been going there since kindergarten, she’s in third grade now. She loves that school. She excels in that school,” said Jule’s employee Lacey Hampton.

The district plans to reassign more than 400 students and teachers to Franklin Elementary and Truman Elementary in La Quinta.

Parents voiced concerns the closure would overcrowd classrooms at those schools, but DSUSD officials said Franklin and Truman still wouldn’t be full even if Adams closed.

DSUSD estimates the consolidation of schools will save it $600,000 a year in operational costs and enhance services to students.

“If they keep the school I’ll be very happy, if they close it I’ll be disappointed,” said Enrique.