With Fewer Seats To Fill, LAUSD To Build Fewer Schools

Facing a decline in enrollment, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has canceled plans for 19 new schools and additions, reports the LA Times. So less giant green and yellow schools, less space stations. Construction of the schools has been a huge issue for locals, who have waged wars against the LAUSD to stop projects like Echo Park's Central Region Elementary School No. 14. As previously covered on Curbed, the city spent $26 million snapping up 50 homes in the area, but now student numbers have dropped due to large families moving out. Hello, gentrification. Christine Peters, head of Right Site Coalition, is leading the opposition of the Echo Park campus and tells the paper: "[LAUSD] just don't want to say: 'Oops, we're wrong,' so they're going to push this thing through regardless, just to save face." Those in support of the school argue that population levels could rise again, and say area families want smaller schools. [Shot of proposed Echo Park campus]
· L.A. schools cut building plans as enrollment falls [LA Times]