Minutes after the Orcutt Union School District Board of Education wrapped up the charter school-related portion of its Nov. 10 meeting—where topics focused on the successes of the system and upcoming fieldtrips—parents walked in, ready to fight for their
public schools.
The district has been in the midst of a financial crisis: Student populations have begun to dwindle, creating a conundrum as to how to keep out of the red in times of tight school budgets.
To compensate for its losses, the school board created a list of scenarios that would make up for monetary shortcomings. Out of the 17 possibilities, the board focused on four—three of which include the closure of May Grisham School’s kinder-garten through sixth grade programs.
Board plans included making the elementary school a sixth- through-eighth-grade school, and seeding the current students into surrounding elementary schools. The district is also considering reassigning boundaries. The possible closure of May Grisham has upset parents, who filled the multi-purpose room at Lakeview middle school to contest this scenario.
“How important is our student’s education when you take it away? It’s their second home,” one parent said during the public comment period. “There’s indisputable evidence on the importance of neighborhood schools.”
One parent said she thought the district hadn’t informed the parents in a timely fashion; according to her, the school board notified the neighborhood of the closure in September.
A May Grisham student also spoke out against his school being closed: “I would love to stay one more year,” he said. “I’ve had problems in the past, but teachers and staff [have] helped me out.”
The closure wasn’t the only topic, though. Many teachers spoke about perceived misuse of federal stimulus funds.
Orcutt Educators Association President Monique Segura expressed dissatisfaction with the board’s use of the money.
“In spring of 2009, 25 full-time certified teachers lost their jobs due to budget cuts and declining enrollment,” she said. “Thirteen of those were permanent or probationary teachers, some of them having taught over 10 years in our district.”
About six of those teachers have been rehired as substitutes, which costs the district $2,381.81 a day, she said.
If the district brought those six teachers back, it would cost about $264,986 from the beginning of January to the end of the school year. That’s out of $889,457 received from the federal jobs money.
The federal dollars aimed to support educational programs, specifically salaries, benefits, and other expenses associated with rehiring staff, retaining existing employees, and hiring new staffers to provide education-related services. The bill only supplies a one-time source of money.
The decision on whether to partially close May Grisham School is expected to be made at the Dec. 8 meeting.
This article appears in Nov 18-25, 2010.
