This Community Won't Back Down
The Bee editorial board is concerned that the SCUSD school board will be perceived as acting unfairly by failing to close Mark Twain or Tahoe Elementary, in addition to the schools already closed. Evidently none of the Bee editorial board watched the SCUSD board meeting streaming online. If they had, they would know that the SCUSD board has already been accused of unfairness in the closure of seven elementary schools. The hasty process used which did not follow best practices, the phoney capacity numbers and the budget numbers showing money left unspent at the school sites every year demonstrate that these closures were "not fair". In the 2009 closure process a 7-11 committee developed the closure criteria, schools considered for closure were grouped in study areas from all over the district, and there were public meetings held before the closures list was announced. Because of that open transparent process there were not the outcries you are hearing now. It seems to me that the real reason these schools were on the closure list is that most of the parents are poor and minority, and many don't speak English, making it difficult for them to fight back against the district. But these parents are not backing down and neither will the community at large. The dozens of people who attended the budget forum last night at the Colonial Heights library are not taking these closures lying down. They are fired up and ready to pursue all avenues of reddress, including lawsuits and recall. This story has not ended and the fight has just begun.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/06/5239535/fairness-in-decisions-on-school...
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/06/5239535/fairness-in-decisions-on-school...