The Lincoln Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a school reconfiguration plan May 20 that will convert Brookside School from a TK-8 campus into a TK-6 elementary school as the district prepares to open a second comprehensive middle school at Don Riggio School in the 2027-28 school year.
The decision followed hours of presentations, board discussion and public comment from parents, educators and community members, many of whom urged trustees to preserve Brookside’s seventh- and eighth-grade program.
What led to the decision
District administrators said the changes are part of a yearslong effort to create a second dedicated middle school to relieve enrollment pressure at Sierra Middle School and expand middle school options across the district.
Superintendent Kelly Dextraze told trustees the district had analyzed facilities, enrollment trends, staffing, family surveys, student stability rates and geographic boundaries before bringing forward the recommendation.
“This is a highly complex issue,” Dextraze said. “There are many challenges. There is much to consider, but the totality of the information that we have considered, the data, the input received, has led us to the recommendations that I’ll be making tonight.”
Under the approved plan, Brookside School will be reconfigured as a TK-6 school, while Colonial Heights School and John McCandless STEM Charter School will remain TK-8 campuses. Dextraze said the change would allow sixth-grade students to choose among the four options — Don Riggio School, Sierra Middle School, Colonial Heights School and John McCandless STEM Charter School — for seventh grade. The plan would also align special day class programs across schools and expand Learning Center models districtwide.
Dextraze said converting Brookside into a TK-6 school would allow the district to add more elementary enrollment capacity at one of its most in-demand schools while maintaining intervention and music programs on campus.
Dextraze said the district’s preferred configuration would allow Brookside to add first-, second- and third-grade classes in the 2027-28 school year by relocating staff from Don Riggio School. It would also allow Sierra Middle School to maintain enrollment at 560 students and Don Riggio Middle School to enroll up to 420 students.
“We know that there will be many impacted students and staff, and we are working hard to minimize the disruption and to be mindful of the ways in which disruptions will occur as a result of these reconfigurations,” Dextraze said.
What parents said
The proposal sparked strong opposition from some Brookside families, who argued the change would disrupt students socially and emotionally while weakening one of the district’s highest-performing schools.
Jennifer Johnson, a Brookside parent and business owner, said many families moved into the area specifically so their children could attend the TK-8 school.
“This proposal is not simply an operational adjustment,” Johnson told the board. “For many students and families, it represents the loss of continuity, belonging, community identity and emotional stability that Brookside has provided for years.”
Several speakers referenced the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and argued another major transition during adolescence could negatively affect children’s mental health.
One parent, who identified herself as a psychiatrist, asked district leaders how the emotional impacts of the transition had been evaluated.
“Many of these students started kindergarten during COVID when social development and peer interactions were already being disrupted. Over the years, they have rebuilt the friendships, routines and emotional security within the Brookside community,” she said. “Now the same children are again facing sudden disruption during their adolescence.”
Other parents questioned whether the district had fully analyzed the long-term academic and community impacts of the reconfiguration, including effects on enrollment patterns, housing demand and neighborhood identity.
Some also expressed concern that students who had planned to continue at Brookside through eighth grade would lose leadership positions and milestone experiences.
What district leaders said
Kadie Collette, president of the Lincoln Unified Teachers Association and a Lincoln Unified teacher for 24 years, said she represents 450 teachers across 13 school sites. She defended the districtwide approach and cautioned against treating Brookside as separate from the rest of the district.
“Yesterday during the webinar, a question was asked if this reconfiguration could change the ‘demographics at Brookside,'” Collette said. “Comments regarding student demographics at Brookside have been heard for many years around Lincoln Unified. Let’s be honest about what’s really being said. People are expressing fear that students who are unlike the typical Brookside student may attend Brookside, but every child in Lincoln Unified is the responsibility of this school board.”
Collette said every student, regardless of their family income, neighborhood, race, language or level of family support, deserves access to a quality education and a welcoming school environment.
“Brookside is one school in Lincoln Unified, not a separate district and not a school reserved for only certain families,” Collette said.
Collette argued Brookside’s reputation stems largely from high levels of parent involvement and outside educational support rather than differences in curriculum or teacher quality.
“All of our schools work diligently to provide students with the same curriculum, the same educational standards and highly qualified teachers,” Collette said. “Brookside teachers do not have different training than all other Lincoln Unified teachers. Brookside does not receive its own special curriculum.”
Trustees acknowledged the decision’s emotional weight but said the district needed to prioritize long-term educational planning for all students.
Area 5 Trustee Bonnie Centers said the district had spent more than two years discussing middle school expansion through its Local Control and Accountability Plan process and emphasized that board members must consider the needs of the entire district rather than a single campus.
“None of this has been taken lightly by any board member, past or present, and administrator,” Centers said. “Great care has been taken by everyone to consider many, many needs for the entire district.”
Trustees also voiced confidence that the future middle school at Don Riggio School would become a sought-after campus similar to Sierra Middle School.
“I believe the whole reconfiguration gives families more different options when deciding what is best for their middle school students regarding proximity to home and school personalities,” Centers said. “I believe all four will have a different personality that each one of us parents will say, ‘This one will fit my child better.'”
The board ultimately approved the recommendation by a 4-0 vote, with Centers, Area 2 Trustee Brian Holdaway, Area 3 Trustee Tivoli Walker and Area 4 Trustee Sandra Chan voting in favor. Area 1 Trustee Allyson Aranda recused herself because her son’s school would be affected by the vote, creating a personal conflict of interest, but she remained in the room during deliberations.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Brookside School to become TK-6 campus in Lincoln Unified reconfiguration plan
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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