Letters on school closure Letters on school closure (February 11, 2005)

Editor's note: The following letters are in response to an administrative recommendation that the Mountain View-Whisman School District close Slater School and restructure Castro School.

Wait on school-closure decision
Editor:
In the articles concerning the possible closure of Slater Elementary and the formation of a citizens oversight committee to review the proper use of funds generated by the new parcel tax, several points caught my interest.
Board president Ellen Wheeler, who also served on the school closure task force, is reported to have said that the group never discussed restructuring Castro Elementary and that it was something Superintendent Yick came up with all by herself.
Wheeler is quoted as saying, "I am in awe of her ambition." I, too, am in awe of the superintendent's ambition. It is very ambitious of her to assume this responsibility considering the fact that the district is even now in the process of conducting a search to find her replacement. To propose and implement these sweeping and disruptive changes under these circumstances is indeed awe-inspiring and perhaps worthy of careful scrutiny by the community, which the school district serves.
We are told the district is facing a financial crisis demanding such drastic measures, but the financial benefits and ramifications have not yet been presented nor backed by hard data. Why the haste? In the article discussing school revenues, "the board members stressed the need for having visible benefits to the community and for spending the money on measures that would ease the healing process of closing a school." The board considered the idea of hiring a "transition specialist" who would serve as a liaison for all students who are changing schools. Is this a useful way to spend the parcel tax funds?

The district will soon have a new superintendent. The proposal to close a school should be shelved for the present until a new person is at the helm. Cheryl Brummitt Teacher, Slater Elementary

New ideas for school district

Editor:

The Mountain View-Whisman School District board members, as well as the school closure task force have done extraordinarily well under the current ebb of state budget cuts and "student performance" mandates sent by the federal government.

When we talk about patterns in the district charts and graphs, this pattern of declining state funds is the most concrete. Now, there is more of a need to diversify the district's funding.

Philanthropic organizations are one source. Yes, I know it has been attempted, but they will not put money into an already squeaky wheel. The school district needs to show them that they have an amazing, "new wheel" for them to invest in. Perhaps then, they may finally listen and pour money into this innovative model.

I feel the "new wheel" needs to have a lot of spokes to keep it strong -- a bigger teaching force which will reduce class sizes. How about a vision of every class size in the elementary schools being 15? Another part of this "new wheel" is hands-on, integrated learning -- build gardens and farms on every campus.

Ohlone School of Palo Alto is a prime example. In the case of helping the needs of non-English speakers, they will congregate for "work periods" in these gardens and farms with English-speaking children and adults doing all the necessary chores and learning needed to tend and care for the animals and plants. This "immersion" model can be further done in the fields of the arts and music.

I realize these idealistic thoughts are easier said than done. But it's such out-of-the-box thoughts that philanthropic individuals will donate to, not methods like closing schools as the only viable option to mend a "squeaky wheel."

I commend every one of the board members in their unselfish devotion to the children of Mountain View. They are awesome in my eyes. Helen Choy Sunnyvale

Task force meetings should have been open

Editor:

At a special meeting of the board of trustees of the Mountain View-Whisman Elementary School District on Jan. 27, I joined dozens of residents in objecting to the abruptly proposed closure of Slater Elementary School and related program changes.

I became involved principally because of reports that a "School Closure Task Force" had met in a series of closed sessions -- in violation of the spirit if not the letter of California's local government open meetings law.

The Ralph M. Brown Act applies not only to meetings of local legislative bodies but also to even a temporary, advisory committee that is "created by formal action" of the local legislative body.

The adopted minutes of the school board show that the school closure task force was created by its formal action on Sept. 18, 2003, although the interim superintendent, Eleanor Yick, contended on Jan. 27 that the original task force had ended its prescribed work last year, and that the school closure task force she "reconvened" a few months ago was no longer the creation of the school board.

Whether the closed sessions violated just the spirit or also the letter of the Brown Act, the key is that the process has been unduly secretive and is proceeding headlong toward a public relations disaster.

School closings are not uncommon. In fact, the district already leases two closed school sites (Whisman and Cooper). But closing a full and vibrant school should be avoided, and board members should first take the time to search for other solutions to any fiscal shortfall. Gary Wesley Continental Circle

Proposal won't work

Editor:

It seems that we're on the way to closing Slater School and radically restructuring the Mountain View-Whisman School District. Such a radical step as school closure should require the district to show not only that there is a fiscal crisis, but that all of the fat has been trimmed from the district's budget.

As every family that has been hit by the dot-bomb has found out, when times are lean, you cut back on the extras. "No more $3 lattes," as one friend put it. Well, I want the district to show that they've eliminated their $3 lattes.

To date, not even budget task force members have seen an itemized budget. All the public has been shown are summary pie charts and graphs, based upon anticipation of declining enrollment and a big "Trust me!"

Be that as it may, if indeed the closure of a school is a necessity, the disruptive nature of the superintendent's plan, the potential loss of the Carnegie Foundation Math Collaboration, disruption of PACT and Dual Immersion; bussing issues; and personnel issues, the only rational vote is to not close any schools at this time or for some time thereafter.

You see, even given the need to close a school, the superintendent's plan is simply too disruptive and too overreaching to be tenable. It will take time to come up with another, more rational plan. Coming up with such a plan will take us beyond this week and perhaps even into the summer. I'm confident that it can be done, and I'm convinced that it should be done. Clearly, there's a better solution out there than what has been proposed.

If a school needs to be closed, then it needs to be closed. That may just be a sad fact of life. However, the plan outlined by the superintendent makes a sad instance into a tragedy. It just doesn't seem prudent to vote to close a school by June 30 without a better plan for how the district will move programs and personnel in place. Rob Alvelais Flynn Avenue

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