Hi Suzie,
I have been reviewing the issues surrounding the pending closure of Aliso Elementary school in Lake Forest and I am not seeing the justification for the closing and from the timeline of events – it appears that there could be a hidden agenda. I’m of course not saying that there is a hidden agenda and I know it’s difficult to imagine that there could be undisclosed issues but with the recent debacles concerning the city of Bell, Vernon and the CUSD, nothing is out of the question these days.
On the surface, the closing of Aliso may be a budgetary issue however I was under the impression that Santiago Elementary was to be closed and those students transferred to Aliso and La Madera which apparently never happened? In fact – Aliso and La Madera Elementary just recently completed several million dollars in upgrades and repairs including new buildings etc., and now Aliso is going to be closed? Why would the SVUSD invest significant tax dollars including new buildings at Aliso ($1.3m) and then close it and why is this closing decision being so rushed? In my opinion school closing discussions should be held over a period of months and not weeks and should include public comment before a vote which doesn’t appear to be happening. “Lange also testified that when the city of Del Mar went through its school closure process, its 7/11 Committee spent eight months conducting meetings, public hearings at multiple locations, and touring school sites before it released a final report.”(1)
“Dean Waldfogel from DecisionInsite consulting mentions that each school closure could save the district $500,000 on average.” (2) “ Waldfogel found that closing the three elementary schools could save about $1.5 million, including the cost of maintenance, and salaries for custodians, principals and secretaries. Teachers, Waldfogel said, would be relocated to nearby schools as determined by the amount of students.” (3) Unfortunately I would need to see EXACTLY where this savings comes from. I also have a problem with the word “could.” Historically, when government uses the word “could” – it means “probably not” such as the toll roads, (cost and revenue), DMV computer systems, could need new buildings at Aliso elementary and on and on. How about some for sure savings with a connection to someone’s compensation type of guarantee? With that being said the word “could” is almost meaningless in my opinion. O’Neill and La Tierra were closed in 2009 – I would like to see the documented savings/revenue figures for those facilities and I would like to see DecisionInsite entire report posted on the SVUSD website. The DecisionInsite report and the SVUSD cost savings documentation regarding O’Neill and La Tierra may only bolster the board’s decision on Aliso and establish a benchmark by which actual cost savings could be measured.
In defense of Dean Waldfogel‘s DecisionInsite study – Dean did say that Aliso should NOT be closed. “He further stated that “attendance boundaries would be drawn that honor the neighborhood school concept. From my perspective, Aliso is the epitome of a “neighborhood school” and therefore should NOT be considered for closure.” (4)
When I look at the other factors regarding Aliso elementary demographic and academic progress I become more suspicious because Aliso appears to be doing quite well. “They (Aliso) say their school is on the right track and has a stellar performance including an increase of 45 points in their API scores, recent acknowledgment by California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson as a premier school in teaching English Learner students, a partnership with the Orange County Pacific Symphony to provide music education to all students, the iEngage program where iPods increase student involvement and a recent recipient of two of 76 awards given nationwide by Apple Distinguished Educators Award.” (5) Additionally, “their innovative program iEngage, which puts iPods in the hand of all upper grade students has attracted visits from the SVUSD Superintendent”, “and various other interested parties from as far away as New Zealand. “ (6) Additionally, “Aliso has been singled out for visits by SVUSD Principals to observe the academic program that led to such a phenomenal rise in the API score. They earned the EPA Energy Star Award and this year two of their staff have been awarded the Apple Distinguished Educator Award.” (6)
Why wasn’t this decision making process started months ago so that parents could have a voice and a full discussion could take place well before the March 11th School Choice deadline? What will the factors and cost on this missed deadline be and has the district reviewed and compared the demographics of Aliso, Santiago, La Madera and Olivewood? I think that with Aliso closing, Olivewood could end up being primarily Hispanic and Santiago primarily White increasing racial divisiveness in the area. (7) I think fully integrated schools such as Aliso elementary should continue to be the example of successful integration and not closed in the interest of segregation or for being on the “other ” side of the tracks as there is separate pedestrian and vehicle tunnels under the tracks almost directly connecting Santiago and Aliso.
With all of the above factors, I simply don’t understand how the SVUSD school board can come to such an expedient decision on closing Aliso elementary when the consultant that was hired by the district recognizes that Aliso is the epitome of a neighborhood school and should NOT be closed. This error is further compounded by the very very expensive recently completed improvements to Aliso, a huge apparant waste of taxpayer dollars. Nationally recognized Aliso elementary has demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and appears to be on the right track in all areas. Why derail the successful progress and investments recently made at Aliso?
What is the long term plan for Aliso and the other schools that are closing? Who is going to lease Aliso with such an abundance of vacant buildings and how much revenue is being generated from the other district closings from 2009? The closing of Aliso appears unwarranted, unjustified and unsubstantiated and possibly illegal with no guarantees of cost savings. Quite simply – What is the SVUSD thinking? Where are the facts? I think that the easiest thing for the SVUSD board would be to simply answer these questions and put everything on the table and take ownership regarding the outcomes of these decisions. If the SVUSD really wants to save money – why don’t we consolidate all the O.C. school districts into one Orange County School District?
Please let me know what the answers are to these questions so that I know that the best interest of the students, parents and taxpayers is being served.
Thank you,
Jim XXXX
Email response:
Thank you Mr. Gilbert….I thought this letter from Jim was great and the board needs to respond…at least they should…but I’d be surprised if they do…because they don’t have the answers to the questions he posed!
Thank you!
Rob
Strange thing happened tonight. Prior to speaking I asked that a copy of this letter be added to the record of tonight’s meeting even though it was emailed to each of the school board members on Sunday night and they should already have been familiar with it. I was told by Board President Suzie Swartz that she had not received it. I asked the other board members…and they all said they had not received it either. The copy I submitted was a copy of the email they were all sent including a listing of their email addresses. I doublechecked the email addresses listed and all of the email addresses were correct. I was cc’d on the original email and I received it no problem. I guess the email for SVUSD was broken…that’s a lot of teachers who were not receiving emails..or maybe coincidentally it was just the board members email that was down….funny how that happens. At least it is now part of the record and they have a copy.
…also..the original included the authors last name…he is more than happy, actually was hoping to get a response….
Rob.
Although the original letter did include the authors last name I chose to redact it from the post in that he OK’d the letter but I did not personally get his authorization to provide his full name.
As to the SVUSD Board. Evey one of them was sent a copy which can be verified by this computer and the fact that the emails did not bounce. As this is the only the second time I have sent them an email and have had no other dealings with them I seriously doubt that email from my personal address is or was blocked.
Thank you Mr. Gilbert…that means every board member was sent 2 copies of the same letter, from two different sources…and they have denied receiving either one. I suggest they get someone in there to fix their email OR own up to the fact that they each received them and might have been untruthful in saying they didn’t.