To mitigate the adverse effects of declining enrollment for FUHSD schools, the district has introduced the Monta Vista Supplemental School Assignment Program for incoming freshmen from the Homestead attendance area. The transfer process for this program is identical to the one for incoming freshmen to transfer to Lynbrook, called the Lynbrook Supplemental School Assignment Program.

Through the MVSSAP, students who live in the Homestead High School attendance boundaries are eligible to apply to attend Monta Vista High School for their entire high school tenure, beginning in the 2023-2024 school year. The program will have 30 available slots, and if more than 30 qualified applications are received, then up to 30 students will be selected at random.

Students living in the Homestead attendance area were previously only able to transfer to Lynbrook High School through the LSSAP — the MVSSAP aims to distribute incoming freshmen more equitably among each FUHSD school. Depending on how the MVSSAP performs during its first year, the district may renew the program for continuation in future years.

Throughout the school year, the FUHSD Citizens Advisory Committee convened in five meetings to strategize how to balance enrollment among the district’s five schools. Though declining enrollment is a prominent issue across the district, it is an especially concerning issue at Monta Vista, where the student population has plummeted by roughly 12% over the last five years. The board approved the MVSSAP to ensure that Monta Vista has a consistent supply of incoming students to stabilize its population.

“I believe the changes could be beneficial,” Monta Vista Class of 2022 alumni Alysa Phattanaphibul said. “Students will be given more flexibility for their learning and can take more initiative in deciding what type of learning environment they want to be in.”

The LSSAP has similarly enabled eighth-grade students to transfer into Lynbrook as residents of the Joaquin Miller Middle School, Christa McAuliffe School or Hyde Middle School areas following eighth-grade promotion. After the LSSAP’s success in modestly increasing enrollment at Lynbrook since its implementation six years ago, the FUHSD CAC hopes that the MVSSAP will further alleviate the issue of declining enrollment in the district.

Despite the LSSAP’s success, however, declining enrollment remains a prevalent issue at Lynbrook, causing some elective classes to be at risk of being eliminated in future years if low student interest persists. As a direct consequence of declining enrollment, FUHSD may be forced to reduce the diversity of classes offered at Lynbrook, and certain niche electives and language classes are at a higher risk of being cut from Lynbrook’s curriculum.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that there are many easy long-term solutions for declining enrollment,” Japanese teacher Jeremy Kitchen said. “It’s just a question of the district and the school’s commitment to try to offer classes.”

While the MVSSAP is only guaranteed for incoming freshmen in the 2023-24 school year, FUHSD’s CAC hopes to study its effectiveness and brainstorm lasting solutions to support its five schools as district-wide enrollment continues to decline.