Over six decades of primary instruction, and a landmark on the corner of Decoro Drive and Seco Canyon Road, Santa Clarita Elementary School students, parents and staff bade farewell to the school on Saturday afternoon.
Generations of Santa Clarita Elementary’s children gave their final goodbyes, remembering their time as Bulldogs at the school that opened on July 1, 1960, and is closing for good after the 2023-24 school year.
Parent Jennifer Larson reflected on the time her three sons, Logan, 13, Ethan, 11, and Austin, 8, spent at the school.
“Last year, all three of them were here at one time. We were heavily involved in the school activities, they were lucky to have had such a close-knit group. Classes were small — there’s about 140 kids total, because we only have second through sixth grade right now,” Larson said.
While Logan went on to Arroyo Seco Junior High School last year, and Ethan will attend this coming year, Austin will adjust to his new school as a third grader in the fall at Bridgeport Elementary School.
“It’s very bittersweet — we’re sad to see the campus close. It’s a beautiful campus. Where can you find all this grass and trees? Whatever they end up doing, we hope it pays tribute to what the school was,” Larson said. “We had a choice of where we wanted to go, which is great. We’re excited for the transition.”
Some of Austin’s friends will attend Bridgeport, including his best friend, Jamison, while he’ll also have the opportunity to make new ones.
When asked about how Austin feels about his school’s closure, he responded: “Sad.”
When asked about his favorite memory, Austin responded: “Reading ‘Magic Treehouse’ No. 51: ‘High Time for Heroes.’”
Former Santa Clarita Elementary Principal Myron Groch reminisced on nostalgic moments from his tenure from 1994 to 2003.
“My heart is broken, pretty close to tears. One of the things that was nice about this school is the sixth graders when they left, they left something of themselves with a heritage project. For example, the rose bushes [in the front] were planted by them, the garden in the back,” Groch said. “They left something of themselves to the school, so there’s a real community connection.”
The campus has experienced declining enrollment and the maturing of neighborhoods surrounding the school, even since the late 1990s.
“I was bringing on lots of special education classes, to keep the enrollment of the school up. It was a great relationship because the older kids could work for the younger, special education students,” Groch said. “My favorite memory was the fact that I knew the first name of every child.”
The campus has since been deemed unfit for future use due to its buildings not being up to 1976 standards for earthquake retrofitting, as outlined in Assembly Bill 300. It would cost approximately $25 million to bring the campus up to code, so the Saugus Union School District has decided to close it and is forming a state-mandated committee to evaluate options for the future of the property.
Groch summarized his sentiments regarding the school’s closure in one statement, likely describing the emotion of Saturday’s event for others who attended: “I’m glad I came, but it’s tough.”
