OAKLAND -- The Oakland school district's student population shrank by about 30 percent between 2000 and 2010, but that decline was by far the sharpest among its African-American students, who accounted for more than three-quarters of the total drop.

The public school system lost about 12,500 black students in that decade -- roughly half, according to figures from the California Department of Education. The exodus is reflected in the latest census count, which showed black residents leaving Oakland and other urban areas of California in great numbers.

With fewer children, a number of historically black neighborhoods saw their local schools close during the 2000s. Now, as Oakland school district leaders prepare to close more schools, there likely will be more. The closure criteria is race-neutral, but four of the five elementary schools on the closure list -- Lakeview, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe -- have a largely African-American student body.