With declining enrollment rates, the city council faces the challenge of implementing new housing measures
By YUENJO FAN — city@theaggie.org
The Davis City Council met on April 1 to address concerns about declining grade-student enrollment rates, housing affordability and an update on the city’s mid-year budget.
As the most pressing issue, Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) Superintendent Matt Best addressed the council on how the district has experienced a gradual decline in enrollment rates and how new affordable housing measures must be undertaken to combat this occurrence.
“This last year, in June, we had 636 students graduate from Davis schools and an incoming cohort of 410 [students],” Best said. “As that smaller cohort rolls forward, we’re going to have a significantly different district than we do today.”
With an average decline of 100 students a year, DJUSD is now seeking solutions to combat this trend. Attributed to lower birth rates and housing unaffordability, the decrease in the student population has now forced the district to turn to boosting the housing market.
Village Farms and Willow Grove, the district’s two proposed housing projects, are aimed at attracting young families whose children will help boost DJUSD’s enrollment numbers. Whether these two housing projects are finalized will ultimately be decided by local voters in November 2025 and June 2026, respectively.
DJUSD Chief Strategy Officer Maria Clayton provided more information about the impact of creating new housing.
“If Village Farms and Willow Grove are both put forward and approved by Davis voters, we are looking at a problem of rebalancing school boundaries,” Clayton said. “We will have enough seats throughout the district and enough students to fill them, but they won’t be in the right places. We will have to think about rebalancing and shifting [school] boundaries and program locations for the entire district. […] With this in mind, the board of education is expected to make a final decision in October 2026 to reflect solutions to the challenges that we face at that time. This decision will begin to be implemented for the 2027-28 school year.”
Best further stressed the importance of the success of these two housing projects, stating that if voters struck down the development plans, anywhere from one to three school closures would be imminent. He also stated how major alterations would be made to the school district if new housing could not be built.
“I’ll say this just plainly, […] without new housing we will need to restructure our district,” Best said. “That restructuring will include school closure, consolidation, model adjustment and program movement throughout town. [DJUSD] can’t lose 1,000 students over a decade without making significant structural changes.”
Best also indicated that if Village Farms passes but Willow Grove is rejected, DJUSD would have to close one school. However, if Willow Grove passes while Village Farms is struck down, then the District would be forced to close two to three schools. Thus, Village Farms will shoulder a larger portion of DJUSD’s enrollment numbers.
Leslie Blevins, the president of the Yolo County Association of Realtors, gave her insight on how Davis’ current population desperately needs the development of new housing units. As Blevins explained, without new, affordable ways of attracting younger families and people, Davis risks losing an important part of its community.
“Davis is changing,” Blevins said. “Our population is aging and we cannot ignore the consequences of that. As we become a community with a larger percentage of seniors, we risk losing the energy that the younger generation brings. […] This creates an urgent need to address the housing situation in our town. Without increased housing options, especially affordable housing, we risk losing the ability to attract young families, students and essential workers who are vital to our community’s health.”
Moreover, the council also listened to a mid-year budget update from Finance Director Elena Adair, who provided an air of optimism about the city’s revenue and expenditures.
“General fund overall tax and fee revenues are at or in some cases, above expectations,” Adair said. “Only a few are below but the net effect is still positive. General fund expenditures are still within the budget, [..] and city-wide expenditures are generally within acceptable ranges.”
The Davis City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month. More information can be found on their website.
Written By Yuenjo Fan — city@theaggie.org
