The decision, first communicated to families and staff in a September 15 letter, has sparked frustration among parents and teachers who say they were not meaningfully consulted and that the district is using euphemisms to describe a closure.

Junipero Serra Annex, located at 155 Appleton Ave. near Holly Park, serves roughly 80 transitional kindergarten and preschool students. It operates as an extension of the adjacent Junipero Serra Elementary School.

According to the district, the building housing the annex is not owned by SFUSD and would require $1.5 million in repairs to remain operational. In the September letter, officials wrote that “given the scale of those repairs, we are prioritizing investments in district-owned buildings where we can ensure long-term stability, safety, and quality learning environments for our youngest students.”

District spokesperson Katrina Kincade said the move is not a formal closure for enrollment or portfolio reasons but a safety-driven decision. “The building is not up to code — it needs aggressive repairs,” Kincade said. “This is not a school closure for portfolio reasons.”

Yet parents and staff describe a process that felt abrupt and opaque. Matt Colley, whose 4-year-old daughter is enrolled in pre-K at the annex, said the September letter was the first he had heard of the plan. “None of the teachers know where they’re going next year,” Colley said. “I’m frustrated about the lack of community engagement and community involvement.”

Colley rejected the district’s language of “transition” and “relocation.” “That’s actually not what’s happening,” he said. “The staff at the school has done a tremendous job of building such a strong community and for the district to just kind of come in and wipe that out with no family involvement, no discussion, and then to kind of pretend it’s not happening by calling it a ‘relocation’ and a ‘transition’ is evasive and frustrating.”

Kristina Finnegan, a transitional kindergarten teacher at the annex, left a teaching job in the East Bay after eight years to join the school a year ago. She now faces uncertainty about her own future. “We’ve had one meeting about the process,” Finnegan said. “But it’s still not exactly clear when things will happen. We don’t even know what the options are yet.”

Finnegan said rumors had circulated for months, but the September letter was the first official notice. She said faculty were not involved in decision-making.

The district had discussed a potential relocation of the annex’s two transitional kindergarten and three preschool classrooms as early as May 20, when officials presented a plan to the school board on expanding early education districtwide. That presentation cited “capital improvement needs” at the current site.

School Board President Phil Kim said he believes the board was not required to vote on the closure because the annex is an extension of Junipero Serra Elementary, not a standalone school.

Under California Department of Education rules, formal school closures require a certified fiscal analysis, an independently verified equity audit, robust community engagement, a transition plan, and a committee of parents, staff, and community members. Those requirements apply to closures starting in 2027, after a moratorium on district closures for the 2025-2026 academic year. The district maintains this is not a formal closure.

A second letter sent October 20 informed families they would have some choice in where students enroll next year. The last day of school at the annex is scheduled for June 2 for transitional kindergarten and June 4 for pre-kindergarten.

City records show the district has completed at least three renovation projects at the site since 2010, the most recent in May 2025. Kincade said current facility issues are too significant to justify further investment.

For families and educators, the impending loss of the annex represents more than a building. “The staff at the school has done a tremendous job of building such a strong community,” Colley said. “And for the district to just kind of come in and wipe that out … is evasive and frustrating.”