WATSONVILLE -- Watsonville High School and E.A. Hall Middle School have joined three other Pajaro Valley schools on a list of the state's lowest achievers.

The state Board of Education approved the final list of 188 "persistently lowest-achieving" public schools Thursday.

Calabasas, MacQuiddy and Hall District elementary schools were named to the list Monday.

The designation, part of President Barack Obama's Race to the Top reform program, requires districts to take drastic measures, including closing schools and transporting students elsewhere; converting schools to charters or handing them over to private management companies; replacing principals and half the faculty; or replacing principals and adopting new curriculum and instructional strategies.

The label also makes the schools eligible to apply for federal grants of up to $2 million to pay for implementation of reforms.

Pajaro Valley Superintendent Dorma Baker said she had a few days notice before the three elementary schools were named and is already meeting with principals and staff to discuss potential changes. The district intends to go after grants, she said.

But Baker learned Wednesday that Watsonville and E.A. Hall could be added to the list, and hasn't figured out yet what it means. Like other district schools, they have been working on reforms for several years.

"We still have to look at what reforms have happened," Baker said.