# List of closed secondary schools in California

This is a list of closed secondary schools in California.
There was a noticeable increase in closures starting about 1979, the year following the passage of Proposition 13. A change in funding changed the financial situation for these school districts. Schools were also closed for other reasons, including declining enrollments at the end of the Baby Boom, long term property ownership, population shift (older residents are less likely to produce new students), and white flight. Each of these local decisions were taken by individual school boards (or entities who operated private schools); many of those attributions are discussed in the linked articles.

## School name discontinued

Certain events, such as closure, can result in the discontinuation of a school's name. In some cases, the same location has been reopened with a similar name.
| School | Location | Date discontinued | Currently at this location |
| Airport Junior High School | Westchester | 1975 | demolished |
| Anderson W. Clark Junior High School | Glendale | 1983 | reopened in 1998 as Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School |
| Apollo Junior High School | Anaheim | 1979 | demolished |
| Argyll Academy | Los Angeles | 1982 | all-girls school; evolved into co-ed Campbell Hall School under new name |
| Aviation High School | Redondo Beach | 1981 | Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center |
| Bellarmine-Jefferson High School (Bell-Jeff) | Burbank | 2018 | St. John Paul II STEM Academy at Bellarmine Jefferson |
| Birmingham High School | Los Angeles | 2009 | renamed Birmingham Community Charter High School |
| Blackford High School | San Jose | 1991 | Boynton High School continuation school and Harker Middle School (private) |
| Buchser High School | Santa Clara | 1981 | renamed Santa Clara High School |
| California Schools for the Deaf and Blind | Berkeley | 1980 | reopened in 1986 as Clark Kerr Campus, University of California, Berkeley |
| Camden High School | San Jose | 1980 | mostly torn down to make space for a shopping center; portions remain as Camden Community Center |
| Campbell High School | Campbell | 1980 | Campbell Community Center |
| Castro Middle School | San Jose | 2006 | renamed Moreland Middle School |
| Chester F. Awalt High School | Mountain View | 1980 | assumed the name of Mountain View High School when the Mountain View Union High School (Castro Street) was closed |
| Citrus Union High School | Glendora | 1958 | Citrus College remains, high school students subsequently went to Azusa High School and Glendora High School |
| Cogswell College | San Francisco | 1930 | converted to a technical college |
| Corvallis High School | Studio City | 1987 | Osaka Sangyo University of Los Angeles and Bridges Academy |
| Covington Junior High School | Los Altos | 1980 | demolished in 2001; rebuilt as Covington School (elementary) |
| Crescent Junior High School | Buena Park | 1979 | demolished for housing |
| Crestmoor High School | San Bruno | 1980 | Peninsula High School continuation school and a municipal courthouse |
| Ellwood P. Cubberley High School | Palo Alto | 1979 | Cubberley Community Center |
| Cypress Grove Charter High School for Arts and Sciences | Carmel | 2006 | |
| Excelsior High School | Norwalk | 1981 | Norwalk Adult School |
| Fermin Lasuen High School | San Pedro | 1971 | |
| Granada Hills High School | Los Angeles | 1994 | renamed Granada Hills Charter High School; now an LAUSD magnet school |
| Gladstone High School | Covina | 2023 | Gladstone Middle School |
| Warren G. Harding High School | Los Angeles | 1929 | Renamed University High School after University of California, Los Angeles moved to its current location. |
| Harry Ells High School | Richmond | 1985 | LoVonya Dejean Middle School |
| High School of Commerce | San Francisco | 1952 | demolished for the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall |
| Dr. James J. Hogan High School | Vallejo | 2011 | first assigned to Springstowne Middle School; now called Dr. James J. Hogan Middle School |
| Holy Name Academy | Pomona | 1949 | Pomona Catholic High School |
| J. Eugene McAteer High School | San Francisco | 2002 | Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts |
| Jacob Riis High School | Los Angeles | 1965 | renamed Mary McLeod Bethune Junior High School |
| Kennedy High School | Barstow | 1977 | Barstow Junior High School |
| Kern County High School and Kern County Union High School | Bakersfield | 1945 | renamed Bakersfield High School in the same location |
| La Palma Junior High School | Buena Park | 1979 | |
| La Sierra High School | Carmichael | 1983 | |
| Loretto High School | Sacramento | 2009 | Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy |
| Los Angeles Baptist High School | North Hills, Los Angeles | 2012 | Heritage Christian School |
| Los Angeles Polytechnic High School | Los Angeles | 1935 | renamed John H. Francis Polytechnic High School |
| Los Nietos Valley Union High School | Downey | 1919 | renamed Downey High School |
| Lowell High School | Whittier | 1980 | Southern California University of Health Sciences |
| Marian High School | Chula Vista | 2007 | campus shuttered across 18th Street from St. Charles Catholic Church; demolished for housing; students went to the new Mater Dei Catholic High School constructed across town. |
| Marina High School | San Leandro | 1980 | converted into a continuation school which lasted until 1989; Stenzel Park now occupies part of the former campus |
| Marywood Central Catholic School for Girls | Orange | 1980 | Demolished for new housing – 2016 |
| McNally Intermediate | La Mirada | 1979 | Property purchased by Biola College (now Biola University) |
| Mercy High School, Carmichael | Carmichael | 1983 | all-girls school, demolished for medical offices and parking garage for adjacent Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Medical Center. |
| Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School | San Francisco | 2013 | merged with Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School |
| Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes | Palos Verdes | 1991 | renamed Miraleste Intermediate School |
| Montclair College Preparatory School | Van Nuys | 2012 | |
| Monte Vista High School | Whittier | 1979 | Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Training Center |
| Mount Carmel High School | Los Angeles | 1976 | formerly at 7011 South Hoover Street, Mt. Carmel Park; the actual demolition of the school was used in the movie Rock 'n' Roll High School which used the school as a location |
| Mountain View Union High School | Mountain View | 1980 | closed and demolished for housing; portions of the campus remain as Eagle Park; Chester F. Awalt High School was then renamed Mountain View High School |
| Neff High School | La Mirada | 1979(?) | Note cde.ca.gov incorrectly list closure date in 1989.. Final class to graduate was 1979 |
| Norte Del Rio High School | Sacramento | 1989 | In 2007, Grant Joint Union High School District merged into Twin Rivers Unified School District; campus is now Martin Luther King Jr. Technology Academy, a middle school. |
| Notre Dame High School | San Francisco | 1981 | Notre Dame Senior Plaza |
| Oakland Aviation High School | Oakland | 2011 | original location: abandoned; 2010 relocation: commercial office space |
| Pacific Christian on the Hill | Hermon | 2004 | now the Los Angeles International Charter High School |
| Pacific High School | San Leandro | 1983 | demolished; now Marina Square Center Outlet Mall |
| Palisades High School | Los Angeles | 1993 | renamed Palisades Charter High School |
| Peterson High School | Sunnyvale | 1981 | became Marian A. Peterson Middle School |
| Pius X High School | Downey | phased out by 1998 | St. Matthias High School |
| Pleasant Hill High School | Pleasant Hill | 1980 | reopened in 1997 as Pleasant Hill Middle School |
| Pomona Catholic Boys High School | Pomona | 1967 | Damien High School |
| Ravenswood High School | East Palo Alto | 1976 | demolished, now Gateway 101 Shopping Center |
| Red Hill Middle School | San Anselmo | 1985 | Red Hill Community Park |
| Richard E. Byrd Middle School | Sun Valley | 2008 | renamed Sun Valley High School after Byrd Relocates to a New Campus near John H. Francis Polytechnic High School. |
| Riverview Union High School | Antioch | 1931 | Antioch Historical Society Museum |
| Rolling Hills High School | Rolling Hills Estates | 1991 | renamed Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in a consolidation of three high schools |
| Royal Oak High School | Covina | | now Royal Oak Middle School |
| Samuel Ayer High School | Milpitas | 1980 | Milpitas Sports Center, Teen Center and Adult Education Center |
| Samuel Rogers Middle School | San Jose | 2006 | Easterbrook Discovery School K-8 |
| San Carlos High School | San Carlos | 1988 | demolished for housing |
| San Francisco Polytechnic High School | San Francisco | | mostly demolished for housing, the east gymnasium remains as the home for Acro Sports and the west gymnasium remains as the home for Circus Center |
| Santa Cruz Waldorf High School | Santa Cruz | 2009 | |
| Santa Rosa Christian School | Santa Rosa | 2011 | |
| Junipero Serra High School | San Diego | 2020 | renamed Canyon Hills High School to avoid honoring Spanish colonialism |
| Serramonte High School | Daly City | 1981 | Jefferson Union High School District office, Serramonte Del Rey |
| Sierra High School | Whittier | 1979 | Whittier Adult School, Frontier Continuation High School, Sierra Vista Alternative High School |
| Sir Francis Drake High School | San Anselmo | 2021 | renamed as Archie Williams High School |
| St. Elizabeth High School | Oakland | 2017 | Reopened 2018 as Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School |
| South Bay Lutheran High School | Inglewood | | Pacific Lutheran High School split away in 2003 |
| Southern California Christian High School | Orange | 2000 | Olive Elementary School |
| Sunnyvale High School | Sunnyvale | 1981 | The King's Academy (private) |
| Sunset High School | Hayward | 1990 | Hayward Adult School |
| Trident Junior High School | Anaheim | 1979 | Gilbert South Continuation High School, Polaris Education Center, Anaheim Adult Education |
| University High School | Oakland | 1948 | became first campus of Oakland City College, which moved in 1967, becoming Merritt College; housed Oakland Technical High School while the original location was retrofitted for earthquakes in the 1970s; now part of the Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland |
| University of San Diego High School | San Diego | 2005 | campus was demolished; school moved to Del Mar and reopened as Cathedral Catholic High School |
| Ursuline High School | Santa Rosa | 2011 | students were absorbed by Cardinal Newman High School |
| Venice Union Polytechnic High School | Los Angeles | 1935 | renamed Venice High School |
| Visalia High School (later called Visalia Union High School) | Visalia | 1955 | campus became Redwood High School, school mascot and colors went to the new Mt. Whitney High School |
| West Los Angeles Baptist High School | Los Angeles | 2008 | |
| William N. Neff High School | La Mirada | 1981 | demolished; now industrial buildings at Alondra Blvd. and Trojan Way; operated as a continuation school until 1989 |
| Wilmington High School | Wilmington, Los Angeles | | renamed Phineas Banning High School |
| Wilson High School | San Francisco | 1996 | Phillip & Sala Burton High School and Leadership High School |

## Moved

This is a list of schools which have changed locations, resulting in closure or reuse of the old campus.
| School | Location | Date moved | Currently at this location |
| Burroughs High School | Ridgecrest | 1960 | Murray Middle School |
| Clovis High School | Clovis | 1969 | in 1995 became San Joaquin College of Law |
| Hanford High School | Hanford | 1964 | Main Hall on East Campus was Demolished in 1975. |
| John H. Francis Polytechnic High School | Los Angeles | 1957 | has moved three times and has changed name once since its creation in 1897; most recent move was from what has become Los Angeles Trade-Technical College |
| Live Oak High School | Morgan Hill | 1975 | Britton Middle School |
| Los Angeles High School | Los Angeles | 1917 | now covered by the Hollywood Freeway |
| Lynwood High School | Lynwood | 1998 | on Bullis Road; now Lynwood Middle School |
| Moorpark High School | Moorpark | 1988 | Walnut Canyon Elementary School |
| Narbonne High School | Harbor City | 1957 | Alexander Fleming Middle School |
| Nordhoff High School | Ojai | 1966 | Matilija Junior High School |
| Oxnard High School | Oxnard | 1995 | demolished |
| Paso Robles High School | Paso Robles | 1981 | George H. Flamson Middle School |
| St. Matthias High School | Downey, formerly Huntington Park | 1995 | Aspire Public Schools |
| San Fernando High School | San Fernando | 1952 | San Fernando Junior High School |
| Sanger Union High School | Sanger | 2004 | Washington Academic Middle School |
| Santa Clara High School | Santa Clara | 1981 | original downtown location on Bellomy Street has been renamed Buchser Middle School; former Buchser High School on Benton Street has been renamed Santa Clara High School |
| Santa Maria High School | Santa Maria | 1920 | Ethel Pope Auditorium |
| Woodrow Wilson High School | Los Angeles | 1970 | El Soreno Middle School |

## Closed and reopened

| School | Location | Date closed | Date reopened |
| Branham High School | San Jose | 1991 | reopened 1999 |
| Edgewood High School | West Covina | 1988 | reopened associated to Edgewood Middle School in 2010; first graduating class was in 2014 |
| Juan Cabrillo Middle School | Santa Clara | 1982 | reopened 1992 |
| Lawndale High School | Lawndale | 1981 | reopened 1997 |
| Palos Verdes High School | Palos Verdes | 1991 | reopened 2002 |