School building closures continue to make headlines throughout the United States. As enrollment drops and other outside forces play out, the difficult decision to shutter facilities is challenging many school districts.

The trend has been building for some time. Declining birth rates, greater access to school-choice programs, and the increased popularity of homeschooling have all contributed to changes in public school enrollment.

Declining enrollment creates financial and facilities challenges

The National Center for Education Statistics projects that public pre-K–12 enrollment will fall from 49.6 million students in fall 2022 to 46.9 million in fall 2031, a decline of about 5%.

Those losses will not be evenly distributed. Several states are projected to gain students, while others are expected to experience double-digit percentage declines. Because much of a school district’s funding is tied to student enrollment, districts experiencing significant losses may have to address corresponding budget shortfalls.

Declining enrollment also creates excess building capacity. Districts such as Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco have experienced school closures in the double digits.

School-choice programs, including vouchers and education savings accounts, also continue to expand in several states, creating additional competition for public school enrollment.

With more unused space in public schools, administrators may recommend closing smaller campuses that are more expensive to operate. Districts frequently relocate students from closed schools to larger, more centralized facilities.

School closures can affect surrounding neighborhoods

Concerns are frequently raised about the negative effects school closures may have on neighborhoods.

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the effects of Chicago Public Schools’ closure of 49 elementary schools in 2013.

Researchers found that shootings increased by approximately 10% in areas surrounding school buildings that remained vacant after the closures, compared with demographically similar neighborhoods where schools remained open. The same increase was not found around closed school buildings that had been repurposed.

The findings underscore an important consideration for districts: Closing a school is not simply an operational or financial decision. What happens to the property afterward may also affect the surrounding community.

What should districts do with closed school buildings?

Once a building is closed, district leaders must determine whether it will be mothballed, sold, demolished, or converted to another use. In some circumstances, consolidating multiple schools into a new facility may be worth a closer look.

A Minnesota school district operated two schools constructed in the 1940s in adjacent neighborhoods. Both buildings were outdated, losing enrollment, and unable to financially support comprehensive educational programs.

The district hired an architect to assess the schools’ major repair needs, educational adequacy, and operating costs.

The school board determined that the two neighborhoods—and the district as a whole—would be best served by closing both schools and constructing a new facility on land adjacent to a community park and within the boundaries of the two neighborhoods.

The solution maintained a neighborhood-school atmosphere, provided an improved and energy-efficient facility, and enabled more effective educational programming for students from both neighborhoods. One closed campus was repurposed, and the other was demolished to create neighborhood green space.

Long-range planning can guide property decisions

Consolidation may be feasible for some districts, but the answer may not be as straightforward for school systems facing numerous building closures.

Austin Independent School District in Texas, for example, approved the closure of 10 schools for the 2026–27 school year after initially considering a larger consolidation proposal. Attendance boundaries were redrawn, and the district began a long-range planning process to determine the future of the affected properties.

Under the district’s process, some sites may be land-banked, meaning Austin ISD retains ownership while monitoring enrollment trends and considering future educational or district uses.

Properties that are not expected to be needed during the district’s long-range planning horizon may enter a surplus-property evaluation process. Potential outcomes include community or nonprofit reuse, short- or long-term leases, or a property sale.

A strategic approach to school facility closures

Over the years, districts have generally sold, repurposed, or demolished closed schools to remove unnecessary financial burdens from their operations.

But each property should be considered in the context of districtwide enrollment, educational programming, building condition, operating expenses, neighborhood needs, and long-term land value.

School building closures will continue to make headlines. With enrollment declining in many parts of the country and other outside forces affecting public education, more school districts will need comprehensive strategies for addressing financial shortfalls, consolidating facilities, and determining the future of underused properties.