✊ Community is showing up — and we are standing together! ✊

At the April 29 Enrollment Committee meeting, parents, teachers, staff, grandparents, students, and community members showed up in the strongest numbers so far.

More than 20 public comment cards submitted, and the committee chose to extend public comment so more people could speak. This is no longer a quiet process happening in the background.

Thank you to everyone who came, spoke, listened, shared information, filled out comment cards, brought documents, supported speakers, and helped make this community visible. Every person in that room mattered. Every signature matters. Every share matters. This is how public pressure becomes public accountability. 

The message was clear: school closure is not just a budget line. It affects children, families, teachers, receiving schools, transportation, special education services, traffic, classroom space, school climate, neighborhoods, and the future of the Morongo Basin.

One speaker put it plainly:

“This decision isn’t just about buildings, it’s about people.”

Another reminded the committee that closures do not only affect the school being closed:

“This isn’t just moving desks from one building to another.”

Parents from receiving-school communities also spoke clearly. One Yucca Mesa parent warned that if Landers closes, approximately 120 students could move to Yucca Mesa — a major increase for that school community — and asked the committee to consider what that would mean for lunches, drop-off, pickup, traffic, safety, classrooms, and daily student life.

Another receiving-school parent asked for a functional audit of available classrooms before any recommendation is made, pointing out that spaces listed as “available” on paper may already be needed for assemblies, ELOP, STEAM labs, services, and other school functions.

Special education concerns were also raised again and again. One speaker said:

“Access to education is not just about enrollment, it’s about meaningful participation and access to service.”

Another parent described Palm Vista as more than a campus:

“It is a place where students with some of the greatest needs in our district are supported and able to grow.”

Speakers raised serious concerns about:

• Larger class sizes and overcrowded receiving schools
• Special education and IEP continuity
• Transportation, traffic, pickup/drop-off, and safety
• Student anxiety, loss of routine, and school transition plans
• The impact on teachers, staff, and school culture
• Whether all alternatives to closure have been fully tested
• The need for public hearings and a transparent process before any surplus property decisions

One of the strongest themes of the night was that closure is not simply “relocating students.” One school community becomes displaced, and another school becomes the receiving site. That transition affects both groups of children.

As one parent asked:

“What are the actual granular plans for the human side of this transition?”

The district still needs to show a real plan for how students will be supported socially, emotionally, academically, and logistically.

The committee discussion also showed that the process is not finished. Members discussed keeping all schools open as one scenario, adding conditions before any consolidation, asking for more study around Palm Vista, and delaying surplus-property discussion because the issue felt rushed and needed more time.

One committee member even asked whether some smaller schools may simply be worth the cost:

“It might be worth asking if some of our smaller schools are just worth the cost.”

That matters.

Community pressure is making the process more visible, more specific, and harder to rush.

Morongo Valley, Landers, Friendly Hills, Palm Vista, and all receiving-school communities are part of the same public school system. A closure decision affects everyone: the school that closes, the school that receives students, the families who travel farther, the teachers and staff who are displaced, and the neighborhoods that lose a public anchor.

We need to stand united together now around a shared message:

Before any school closure moves forward, the district must show the full stabilization plan.

That means real savings, real alternatives, student transition plans, transportation impacts, receiving-school impacts, administrative reduction options, and full public accountability.

Palm Vista “Keep Us Open” Rally
A Palm Vista supporter and rally organizer has reached out with a clear message: families are not waiting quietly while their schools are discussed as closure options. They are organizing, showing up, and asking the district to recognize the human, educational, and community cost of these decisions.

Please come support Palm Vista families and help keep public visibility growing:

Saturday, May 2
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Palm Vista Elementary School
74350 Baseline Rd, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

Bring signs, bring neighbors, and help show that our school communities are not standing alone.

Next key meetings:

MUSD Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 5 — 6:00 PM
Joshua Tree Elementary School
4950 Sunburst Ave, Joshua Tree

Final Enrollment Committee Meeting
Wednesday, May 13 — 6:00 PM
Joshua Tree Professional Development Center
6061 Sunburst Ave, Joshua Tree

MUSD Board Meeting / Expected Recommendation
Tuesday, June 9 — 6:00 PM
Joshua Tree Elementary School
4950 Sunburst Ave, Joshua Tree

June 9 remains a major milestone. The Board has asked for options, and the community must keep showing up before any closure path hardens.

Please keep signing and sharing
We are now at 950 signatures and growing.

Every signature, every share, every public comment, and every person in the room helps make this process visible.

Our message remains simple:

No closure without transparency.
No closure without real alternatives.
No closure without full public accountability.

We are visible. We are organized. And we are not done asking questions.