A tiny Northern California school with just nine students is costing about $118,000 per child each year to keep open—but locals say it is vital.
Orick’s historic school in Humboldt County has five classrooms, a gym, a vegetable garden, and a large play field, according toCalMatters.
While city schools across California deal with falling enrollment and higher costs, rural schools like Orick face even tougher challenges. If the school closes, the whole community could be at risk.
“Close the school? It comes up all the time,” Orick Elementary School District Superintendent Justin Wallace said.
“But I’d say it’s an equity issue. We have families who can’t afford a lot, and this school provides the most consistent setting for our kids. They’re safe, they’re well fed, they’re learning.”
Orick used to have 3,000 people, almost 300 students, seven lumber mills, grocery stores, restaurants, churches and even a movie theater.
Now, the town has about 300 residents, and the average household income is just under $39,000 a year, which is about a third of the state average.
According to the school’s accountability plan, residents deal with high rates of poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, domestic violence, substance abuse, and involvement with the criminal justice system. These problems are made worse by limited resources and “intergenerational trauma.”
The school has become far more than a place for class. It operates a food pantry, gives away clothes, hosts Narcotics Anonymous meetings, runs a toddler playgroup, and even bought a washer and dryer so residents have somewhere to do laundry, per the outlet.
Kimberly Frick, a fifth-generation Orick School attendee who now serves as school board president, said keeping the school alive is tied directly to keeping Orick alive.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
