Long Beach forum tonight on school closing plan

The Long Beach school district will hold a forum Tuesday night about the possibility of restructuring its operations and potentially closing East Elementary School to students.

District Superintendent David Weiss has said closing East to students is one of several options on the table for reorganizing the district, which has fewer than 3,600 students. Enrollment has dropped by more than 600 students from 10 years ago, he has said.

The Long Beach school board may vote on reorganization at its Feb. 11 meeting, Weiss said.

The district’s options include repurposing East and reorganizing the district; reorganizing the district while keeping East open; or doing nothing. Repurposing East would save the district the most money — more than $1.6 million, according to school officials.

Tuesday's forum is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. at Long Beach High School, 322 Lagoon Dr. West, in Lido Beach and is open to the public.