Lompoc’s school district is failing the community

The Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) is failing our community when objectively measured against the state of California education standards. Keep in mind that California rates in the bottom third of the nation, and the LUSD performance is well below that.

A recent report in the Santa Maria Times put it this way, “Results from the 2024-25 Smarter Balanced Assessments in English language arts and mathematics, released this month by the California Department of Education, show that just 32 percent of students in grades K-8 and 11th met or exceeded state standards in English Language Arts (ELA), compared to 49 percent statewide,” (“Lompoc Unified test scores trail state average, remain stagnant in latest CAASPP results,” Oct. 27).

That means that 68 percent of the kids in the LUSD are below the standard.

Because a significant portion of my property tax is funneled to the LUSD to educate the young students, I have a right to demand better performance from our well-compensated district employees. If I could shop for a place to educate kids, it wouldn’t be in the public school system because it has consistently offered a substandard product.

Again, the Santa Maria Times reports, “But despite targeted investments in intervention programs, tutoring, and expanded career-technical and STEM options, Lompoc’s scores have remained largely flat since returning from pandemic-era disruptions in 2021-22.”

Nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base has a need for well-educated technicians and engineers to work on the many projects that dot the base, and businesses in the community need workers who can understand written instructions. Ideally that workforce would come from the local community.

But if the stock for that workforce leaves the public education system unable to perform at the minimum education standards of California, then they won’t be a good fit for the highly technical needs of space programs or any other business.

In other words, the LUSD is denying 68 percent of its students the opportunity to succeed at obtaining a place in the workforce simply because they can’t read well enough to understand the policies and procedures of the business.

So how did the LUSD compare to other school districts in the county? The Santa Maria Times reports that, “The district’s overall performance places it near the bottom among Santa Barbara County districts.”

This is pathetic. The LUSD is supposed to have competent leadership. Those leaders need to assess the situation and come up with a better plan for success. In this case, success isn’t measured by filling classroom seats, spending more money, or graduating students who don’t meet state standards.

Educating the current generation is paramount to the future success of our city; failing to provide strong leadership in the classroom and focused management attention to achieve considerably better results should provoke a very strong reaction from the elected trustees of the LUSD board of education.

According to the board’s webpage, “Trustees of the Lompoc Unified School District, the board of education is committed to the highest level of professionalism and active engagement in district events and activities.” Responsibilities include “setting the direction of the district.”

Direction in this case should mean producing a sustained improvement plan so taxpayers like me can be assured that our money is being well spent so future generations can become productive citizens. Finding excuses such as blaming parents or “inadequate teacher pay and benefits” isn’t the answer; finding an effective solution is.

Shoveling money at the problem such as increasing teachers’ pay or feel-good programs hasn’t worked in the past and should be avoided as a “solution” this time. Teachers’ unions would oppose any effort to hold teachers accountable for student outcomes or establish any performance metrics as a means of determining employee pay/benefit increases, but this method has proved successful in private industry, so why not try it on this problem.

Parents and taxpayers living within the district deserve better than “placing near the bottom” when it comes to education. Affirmative action to improve student outcomes is an absolute necessity or new leadership is needed.

Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Nov 13 – Nov 20, 2025.