|
|
Parents seek split from S.J. UnifiedWORRY OVER SCHOOL CLOSINGS HELPS SPUR SOUTH VALLEY PLANBy Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury News, January 18, 2005 Outraged that one of their neighborhood schools may close and worried about San Jose Unified School District's future, a group of parents in Almaden and Blossom Valley are trying to break away and create their own new ``South Valley'' district. The ambitious plan includes 13 schools that would serve many affluent, mostly white and Asian families in the southern end of the existing sprawling school district. San Jose Unified would be left with 30 schools and a student population nearly two-thirds Latino and likely poorer than its southern counterpart. The secession movement has infuriated Superintendent Don Iglesias and could turn ugly as parents move ahead with an effort that some officials see as misguided. ``As a school district, we clearly will not support any attempt to tear apart one of the most successful and ethnically diverse urban school districts in the state,'' Iglesias said. ``This is a lengthy process that expends energy in a divisive way and is highly unlikely to be approved at any level.'' The secession movement faces an uphill battle to win county approval, and few similar efforts in California have prevailed. Many liken such reorganizations to a bitter divorce, and San Jose Unified is not likely to give up territory, campuses and high-performing schools without a fight. The breakaway district has been discussed quietly since October, primarily among active Almaden parents and on a listserv. Stunning moveBut San Jose Unified's recent announcement that Randol Elementary is one of three schools likely to close at the end of this academic year has angered scores of families, many of whom are stunned that Randol -- a National Blue Ribbon School with high test scores -- is even being considered for closing. Chris Brubaker, a Randol parent of three young children, says he no longer trusts San Jose Unified to represent his family's interests, and like many Randol parents says he feels the school consolidation process has been marred by a lack of transparency and hidden political agendas. He also says separate districts would benefit everyone concerned. ``By splitting off, we think that both districts could get parcel taxes passed,'' he said. Like many large districts in California, San Jose Unified is struggling with the double-edged sword of declining enrollment and the state's unwillingness to fully fund public education. Last week, two highly emotional public hearings about San Jose's school consolidation ended with some parents in tears, others threatening to put their kids into private school, and increased talk about a new district. Dozens of Randol parents have joined the secession effort in recent days, and teams of volunteers have fanned out to collect signatures on petitions at schools, churches and grocery stores in the southern end of the district. ``I've just heard all of the nightmare stories about the school district in the last five years that I've lived here,'' said Lisa Higdon, 34, who planned to enroll her young son in kindergarten at Randol this fall and spent last Saturday gathering signatures at a Home Depot. ``It's such a large district that I think something needs to change.'' Geography, diversitySanta Clara County's largest school district has always wrestled with an unusual geographic configuration that draws a diverse mix of students from urban neighborhoods, the city's downtown business district and outlying suburban enclaves. The 31,000-student district is 24 miles long and four miles wide, and the demographics change drastically from the north -- which is heavily Latino -- to the south, which is primarily white and Asian. The proposed South Valley School District includes campuses that fall south of Branham Avenue and Highway 85. It would have about 9,000 students in 13 campuses: Allen, Almaden, Graystone, Los Alamitos, Randol, Simonds and Williams elementary schools; Bret Harte, Castillero, John Muir and Steinbeck middle schools; and Pioneer and Leland high schools. One organizer has already talked about using the Steinbeck campus -- which San Jose Unified plans to close in June -- as the district office. According to the California Education Code, 25 percent of registered voters within the proposed new district's boundaries -- or about 9,000 people -- must sign petitions in favor of the new district. After those signatures are validated, the 11 elected members of the Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization would hold public hearings. The committee would then analyze the request against a wide variety of criteria -- including whether the new district promotes racial or ethnic segregation or discrimination and the increase in cost to the state. The county committee would then make a recommendation to approve or deny the petition to the State Board of Education, which has the final say. Across the state, other efforts to carve up school districts are under way. In Sacramento, the Grant Joint Union High School District may split into two. In Los Angeles, a movement is afoot to withdraw Malibu from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Some residents in San Jose's growing Evergreen neighborhood want to expand the Evergreen Elementary School District to include Evergreen Valley and Silver Creek high schools, two of the East Side Union High School District's highest performing schools. ``Typically a group of parents don't feel that their children's needs are being adequately met,'' said Larry Shirey, a field representative with the California Department of Education. ``They don't feel they are being heard, and they have the resources to do something about it. But when it's one neighborhood pitted against the rest of the district, those are very hard to get approved.'' Failed effortsIn the Bay Area, similar breakaway efforts in recent years have failed. In 2000, parents in Fremont attempted to form a separate Mission San Jose School District that would have encompassed much of the city's more affluent foothills. The Alameda County Office of Education denied the request, primarily because the new district would have been nearly 60 percent Asian -- a move the county said would ``contribute to ethnic isolation and segregation.'' It's not yet clear how far parents are willing to take their fight. ``I'm concerned that the parents feel they need to go down this path,'' said Veronica Grijalva Lewis, president of San Jose Unified's school board. ``I understand their frustration. But we want them to work with us, not against us.''
Comments. Questions. Broken links? Bad spelling! Incorrect Grammar? Let me know at webmaster.
|