Ocean View closes middle school, but elementary schools will stay
Spring View Middle School will be dissolved, and the campus will be turned into district offices
A Golden View Elementary student holds up a sign during an Ocean View School District’s board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 where the board will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The three elementary schools that also faced closure, consolidation or repurposing — Circle View, Golden View and Village View elementary schools — will remain open, the OVSD board decided during its meeting Tuesday evening, Nov. 14.
The decisions for each of the elementary schools were unanimous, but the board split on closing Spring View at the end of this school year and sending those students to other middle schools in the district. Trustees Morgan Westmoreland, Jack Souders and Patricia Singer voted to close the school; Trustees Gina Clayton-Tarvin and Norm Westwell were against it.
Golden View Elementary student Aaliyah Ramos, 9, gets a hug from Goldie, the school mascot, Goldie, after Ramos spoke to the Ocean View School District board about the impact closing of her school will have during meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 where the board will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Carrie Lustig, at podium, who has a disabled son at Village View Elementary is joined by other parents from the school, tells Ocean View School District board how closing the school will impact her son and other students during a board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jenny Wildvank , right, is overcome with emotion as Carrie Lustig, left, speaks to the Ocean View School District board about the impact closing the school will have on her disabled son and other students at at Village View Elementary during a board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Ocean View School District board listens to public comments during a meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The board will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gina Clayton-Tarvin, Ocean View District board vice president, listens to public comments during a board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The board members will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Morgan Westmoreland, Ocean View District board member, listens to public comments during a board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The board members will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A Golden View Elementary student holds up a sign during an Ocean View School District’s board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 where the board will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Abigail Rose Niles Dencer, 8, a third-grader at Golden View Elementary listens to public comments during an Ocean View School District’s board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 where the board will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Elizabeth Poole, a parent who has two children at Golden View Elementary, speaks to the Ocean View School District board against closing the school in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jill Dowd, a Golden View Elementary teacher for 21-years, implores the board not to close down the school during an Ocean View School District’s board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Golden View Elementary School in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 is one of four schools the Ocean View School District is considering closing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Huntington Beach residents put out signs in their front year against the Ocean View School District’s plan to close four schools in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Village View Elementary School in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, a California Distinguished School, is one of four schools the Ocean View School District is considering closing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Spring View Middle School in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 is one of four schools the Ocean View School District is considering closing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Circle View Elementary School in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 is one of four schools the Ocean View School District is considering closing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ocean View School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Conroy listens to public comments during a board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The board will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Village View Elementary School in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 is one of four schools the Ocean View School District is considering closing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parents, teachers, students and other pack the Ocean View School District’s board room in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 to oppose a vote to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Norm Westwell, Ocean View District board member, listens to public comments during a board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The board members will vote on whether to close four schools in the district. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bobby Guilllen, PTO president and parent at Golden View Elementary speaks against school closings during an Ocean View School District’s board meeting in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Huntington Beach residents put out signs in their front year against the Ocean View School District’s plan to close four schools in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Closing Spring View Middle was estimated to result in about $2.9 million in savings for the district over three years with a projected savings of approximately $5.8 million by 2030, according to a financial report.
Spring View’s Huntington Beach campus will not be sold. The district will move its offices to the site; there was no date given during Tuesday’s meeting for when that will occur.
“I think we misplaced our money somewhere along the way,” said Westwell, noting the district recently spent money on new paint in the current district office and new air conditioning and fencing at Spring View.
Only one public comment was directed toward Spring View’s future in the district specifically, something noted by Westmoreland.
“The lack of hearing from the community kind of makes you think that maybe they realize that this is inevitable,” said Westmoreland. “I have to serve the community, but I haven’t heard from anybody.”
Although the agenda item recommended Golden View be closed, the board unanimously voted against the measure.
“We would be absolute imbeciles to close Golden View,” said Souders.
During the over two hours of public comment, which was at times emotional, most speakers, including children, advocated for Golden View to remain open. Some students even gifted board members with flowers and strawberries directly from the Golden View on-campus farm. Golden View’s mascot, Goldie the goat, also made an appearance to encourage the board to not consolidate the school.
After the vote, cheers erupted from the crowd.
If Golden View was consolidated with other elementary schools, the school’s onsite farm — which was updated in 2019 for $500,000 — would have been turned into a district “Environmental Science Center” where students from other schools in the district could utilize the facility. Closing Golden View would have estimated about $3.96 million in savings by 2030, according to a financial report.
Through tears, Reba Holland said she is relieved to see her grandchild’s school saved.
“This has been such a stressful few months,” said Holland. “Seeing everyone come out and support the (Golden View) is truly magical. It goes to show what you can do when you work together. I am still upset regarding the Spring View vote and hope amazing options are given to the families, but I think we can finally start to move on as a community now.”
“This should have been discussed years ago so we could have had a better plan and a means to adapt,” said Golden View parent Amy Diaz. “I love this school especially because we have the farm, a unique asset to our students.”
The OVSD board decided to, at a later date, consider relocating Village View’s special education program and Circle View’s GATE program, a district-wide program for advanced students.
The board’s decisions came after it was presented with a task force’s 19 recommendations to address dropping enrollment in the district. Those recommendations had been split into four categories — innovative, instructional, financial and property management — and included ideas like leasing out unused property, combining certain elementary schools or opening up Golden View’s farm as a field trip destination for other sites. The task force was convened earlier this year and made up of more than 40 members of the OVSD community, including parents and teachers.
“Seeing how this entire situation was handled is truly upsetting,” Richard Marrison, a Village View parent, said before the meeting. “All the parents here have fought to keep our students in this district and at their beloved schools, and that won’t stop, no matter what the vote is.”
“I just hope the board, and frankly the community members as well, have learned from this situation and we can turn to retaining students,” said Marrison.
OVSD — which serves parts of Huntington Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley and Midway City — is home to more than 6,800 students across 15 schools.
Since the 1980s, the Ocean View School District has tackled the issue of decreasing enrollment by shutting down or repurposing 11 different school sites, according to Tuesday’s agenda.
“Declining enrollment has continued in recent years and is impacting the district’s instructional program, facility needs and budget,” the agenda said.
In 2010, Ocean View’s enrollment stood at 9,554 students, and according to the agenda, district officials predict it will decrease by an additional 5,563 students by 2030, representing a drop of about 4,000 students.
The district has had a drop of about 2,600 students since 2013, and it closed Sun View Elementary in Huntington Beach in 2018.
