William E. Kettler Elementary School, Huntington Beach, California

|  School's Out, Forever?  |

In March of 2005 the Huntington Beach City school district announced their decision to “shutter” Kettler Elementary school.  The decision to close the school was based on declining enrollment and the need to balance the district’s budget.  Kettler’s 538 students were distributed among four nearby schools.  Moffett, a receiving school suddenly found itself with 206 new students.  A dozen other school districts within Orange County also experienced declining student enrollments due to many families’ decisions to move inland for less expensive real estate options.