Closing one of the elementary schools and middle schools, however, is eminent in an effort to reduce the district's $9.4 million budget deficit. These closures will cut $1.9 million off the budget red ink.

Bob Gonzales, director of student assignments, explain the rationale for these possible closure, saying the schools' declining enrollment was a major factor. There are nine schools affected--Allen, Almaden, Bachrodt, Carson, Cory, Lowell, Randol and Trace elementary schools, and Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet School.

Although the Nov. 10 meeting was open to the community, parents were basically observers. The evening was intended to be a meeting between Gonzales and a 15-member task force committee, made up of parents, administrators and teachers, who were there to review closure options. Although the public was only given a brief time to ask questions, parents and students jockeyed for position to get their particular concerns addressed.

Rose Garden residents could be affected by the closure of Cory or Trace Elementary schools, either of which may expand to kindergarten through fifth-grade students.

One parent asked if the district was taking both Cory's and Trace's performing arts program into consideration. Gonzales said the district currently intended to move that program to another site if one of the schools were to close.

For Almaden residents, the elimination of Almaden Elementary School could send students out of the neighborhood to Reed or Los Alamitos elementary. If the Almaden is closed, this would be the second relocation for many students who were assigned to Almaden last year after Hammer Montessori School moved to Galarza Elementary School, according to Gonzales.

Speaking through a translator, one Almaden parent expressed the concern that students would lose many valuable programs, including bilingual education, and said she was worried neighborhood children would be scattered far from the neighborhood. Gonzales responded by telling her that the committee is seriously considering the impact a closure would have on neighborhood students.

Although Willow Glen schools are safe from the current round of school closures, Willow Glen Elementary will absorb displaced students if Hacienda shuts down. And residents who attend the magnet school will lose a program that parents and teachers say cannot be relocated to another campus.

"We have a model of Santa Clara Valley, seven plant communities, animals and redwood trees," science teacher Carol Flanagan said. "The program we have is not transferable."

Coreen Booth, who has one child in the Hacienda program and one who graduated from the school, said the school offers a unique opportunity for students who might not have other opportunities.

"Unless you can afford to send your child to a private school, Hacienda is the only option for a high-quality school," Booth said.

Several parents wondered why Hacienda was not being considered as a receiving campus for students who are displaced by school closures. Gonzales answered that because the magnet is not a "bounded" school, it cannot be considered as a receiving site.

Booth said she believed the district was being less than open to parents about the potential loss of their school.

"There is a lot of pessimism among the parents," she said. "There is a sense that many of the decisions have already been made. They are not considering the strength of the programs."

The distraught parent said that she was concerned that the community and district staff may have a misconception about Hacienda's parents and students.

"We are being portrayed as elitist, and it would be better to divide the elite amongst other schools," Booth, a Mexican-American, said. "But we aren't elitist. If the schools are closed, many students who don't have other means to break out will be sent back to lower-performing schools. And we have many families who have serious financial needs."

Flanagan agreed that Hacienda is a valuable asset.

"In Silicon Valley, it is especially important to have a science magnet," she said. "It can draw in people from all areas, especially minorities and women, who have not been well represented in the sciences. They need to gain the vocabulary at a young age."

Flanagan and the parents insisted many people are seeking out the school's science program. Although the school has 623 students, more than 200 children have been placed on a waiting list, a statistic verified by Gonzales at the meeting.

And if the magnet's students are sent back to their neighborhood schools, Flanagan and the parents said the district would be restricting parents' option of school choice.

"The district says it's committed to choice," Flanagan said, reading from a typed list of issues she and several parents had brought to the meeting. "But our long-term goal is to have choice. It is a step backwards to close a school that is based on choice."

The San Jose Unified School District plans to finalize its decision during a closed session on Nov. 22 and announce which elementary school is to be closed after that date.