Menlo Park’s TIDE Academy, opened in 2019, to close amid budget woes

Citing mounting budget pressures, the Sequoia Union High School District board voted unanimously Wednesday to close Menlo Park’s TIDE Academy, an institution that has been open for less than a decade in one of the nation’s wealthiest counties.

Officials said the decision comes as the district faces a projected $6 million structural deficit by the end of the school year, alongside declining enrollment and rising costs that they warned could otherwise lead to teacher layoffs and program cuts across other campuses. Total projected spending for the district in the 2025-2026 school year is $259,562,294.

Emotions ran high during Wednesday evening’s meeting, which followed three months of public discussions over the school’s future. Despite pleas from the community to explore alternatives, trustees said keeping the academy open was not financially sustainable and would harm programs and staffing across the district.

Opened in 2019 as a science, technology, engineering and mathematics school, TIDE Academy was built at a cost of $50 million utilizing bond funds.

It was designed to accommodate up to 400 students. Currently, the school serves nearly 200, down from 242 in the 2022–23 school year, according to district data.

In earlier public meetings, parents and community members called the figures used to justify the closure “cherry-picked,” saying they ignored the impact of COVID-19 and other factors on enrollment.

In addition to smaller class sizes, the school offers college-level courses through a dual-enrollment program with Foothill College and provides specialized support for students with disabilities and neurodivergent students. The school — the district’s only campus east of Highway 101, in the county’s more disadvantaged area — reports a graduation rate close to 100%.

District staff reported that TIDE Academy costs nearly $40,000 per student — about double the per-pupil spending at other district schools. Superintendent Crystal Leach said the school cost roughly $8 million to operate this year and that significantly reducing expenses would be difficult.

Beginning next fall, TIDE Academy will close its campus and transition its students to Woodside High School.

The decision sparked outrage from community members, who urged the board to reconsider and highlighted the school’s small class sizes and targeted programs for students with diverse needs. Student representative Christopher Chang said students’ voices were largely ignored in the decision-making process.

“To have the sustainment of our school not even on consideration on the agenda tonight does not feel like proper community engagement, especially given that’s what we’ve been advocating for the entire time,” Chang said.

Chang also criticized the plan to move students to Woodside High School, calling it shortsighted.

“Your analysts have told you that our students will be served adequately at other schools, but we are right here, telling you personally from our own experiences that those analysts never saw the full picture,” he said. “Because nobody knows student experience better than a student.”

Other students described feeling safe and supported at TIDE Academy because of its smaller size.

Marijane Leonard, a parent of a ninth grader at TIDE Academy, expressed skepticism over the transition to Woodside High School.

“Will you, trustees, personally ensure staff is held to that plan? Or will you allow it to be smoke and mirrors, as this closure exploration process has been up to now?” Leonard asked. “After three months, we do not believe you fully understand what TIDE does or what its students need. So it is difficult for us to believe that what is promised about the future of TIDE will actually be delivered.”

Following Wednesday’s vote, community members shouted at board members over the closure, prompting trustees to call for a 5-minute recess.

Responding to pleas from families to keep the school open, Trustee Mary Beth Thompson said the decision was not taken lightly.

“I do not believe anyone on this board, myself included, wished for it to get to this point tonight,” Thompson said. “Because I do not believe our district wants to hurt children.”

She said trustees ultimately had to weigh both financial data and community testimony.

“Numbers don’t speak for themselves — people interpret them,” Thompson said. “My responsibility tonight is to not choose between statistics and stories, but to hold both the data on sustainability and the deeply felt experience of our students and families.”

It remains unclear what will happen to the TIDE Academy building. The board directed staff to return at a future meeting with clearer budget projections and plans for supporting students who will transfer to other schools.

The Sequoia Union High School District serves more than 9,000 students across San Mateo County, including Atherton, Belmont, East Palo Alto, Ladera, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Redwood City and Woodside.