Consolidation of some elementary school districts in Santa Clara County, and unification of others with high schools along high school district boundaries, could save $51 million a year, according to the county's grand jury.
In a report released in June, the grand jury recommended the unification of elementary schools with high schools in the Los Gatos, Campbell, Mountain View and Fremont high school attendance areas. On the county's east side, the grand jury urged consolidation of four elementary districts into two, without creating a unified district with the East Side Union High School District. The jury said unification of elementary districts with the East Side Union High School District would create an 84,000-student district that "would be difficult to manage" because of its size.
The proposal would eliminate 15 elementary school districts that would merge into four high school districts and two other elementary school districts. The grand jury touted both the savings in administrative costs of up to 50 percent, and improvement in the "educational experience."
The county now has six unified districts (Gilroy, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Palo Alto, San Jose and Santa Clara).
The new unified districts would be:
· Los Gatos (including Los Gatos, Saratoga, Lakeside and Loma Prieta elementary districts);
· Campbell (including Campbell, Cambrian, Union Moreland and Luther Burbank elementary districts);
· Mountain View-Los Altos (including the Los Altos and Mountain View Whisman elementary districts);
· Fremont (Sunnyvale) (including Cupertino and Sunnyvale elementary districts).
On the east side, the Berryessa and Orchard elementary districts would be consolidated, as would the Alum Rock and Mount Pleasant elementary districts. (Sources: Santa Clara County Grand Jury Report: "Achieving School District Efficiency Through Consolidation," and the San Jose Mercury News, July 4.)
In other education news:
Accreditors Place Peralta Community College District's Campuses on Probation Due to Fiscal Concerns. The Contra Costa Times reports: "Accreditors have placed the Peralta Community College District's campuses on probation, saying the board of trustees and district administrators have put the schools at risk. In a letter received Tuesday by Peralta leaders, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges wrote that it had significant concerns about 'the fiscal solvency and stability' of the 46,000-student district. Peralta officials must demonstrate by October that they have solved most of the problems, the letter said."
Schools must maintain accreditation to show they are meeting academic standards. Losing accreditation is the most serious sanction a college could face. The district includes Oakland's Laney and Merritt colleges, Berkeley City College and the College of Alameda.
The Peralta document leveled heavy criticism at the board of trustees and the leadership of the district's recently departed chancellor, Elihu Harris.
Commissioners said trustees have meddled in district affairs, especially in hiring decisions. A commission report, attached to the letter, noted concern over the hiring of Peralta's inspector general and the creation of a new vice chancellor's position to oversee human resources.
"The personnel hiring process appears to have lost its focus and integrity because of the involvement of a few members of the board of trustees," the report said without naming the involved trustees. "Concerns about board members interfering with the leadership of the chancellor ... raise questions about how effectively the district and its colleges can operate."
Commissioners also noted the significant financial and computer problems that have ravaged Peralta since Harris took over in 2003. One of Harris' early decisions – to switch the district to a PeopleSoft computer system that has never been fully understood by employees – has caused serious problems with the district's financial accounting and operations, accreditors said. (Source: Contra Costa Times, July 6.) (Cal-Tax: A grand jury report released this week also blasted the district. See story in the Waste, Fraud and Mismanagement section on page 9.)
Cal-TaxReports, July 12, 2010
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