Oct 26-Board of Ed. Preview

October 24, 2011

In Board Watch Blog

The OUSD School Board is expected to vote on Superintendent Tony Smith's proposal to close five schools at Wednesday's Board meeting.  The meeting will be held at Oakland Technical High School auditorium, located at 4351 Broadway, at 5 p.m.

The proposed resolution, which has dominated the Board's agenda for the last month, includes closing five schools (Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park, and Santa Fe elementary schools) and the consolidation of several smaller middle and high schools.

The text of the resolution is included below, or click here.
For GO's school closure coverage click here.

Aside from school closure, the Board has a relatively light agenda.  Of interest:

New Business: State Audit
The Board will vote on a contract that would enable the State Controller's Office to perform an audit of the district for the 2010-11 fiscal year.  The audit will confirm whether or not the District's financial statements are accurately presented, and will be the first complete audit of the District since 2003. If approved, the District will pay the State Controller's Office $400,000 and the audit will begin in early November and be completed by the end of July 2012.

The audit is a stipulation of the 2003 $100 million loan from the State to the District.  

For more information on the State audit, click here:


TEXT OF BOARD RESOLUTION REGARDING RESTRUCTURING AND SCHOOL CLOSURES:

Resolution of
GOVERNING BOARD
OF THE OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Resolution No 1112-0066
School Portfolio Management & District Restructuring Decisions - Effective School Year
2012-2013
    
WHEREAS, the District has thriving children in many wonderful schools and has improved faster than all other urban districts in California over the past six years; and

WHEREAS, the District has nonetheless not met the needs of all children and does not have high quality schools in every neighborhood, and the City remains divided by predictable patterns of low performance, high incidence of violence, and lack of connection through its public schools; and

WHEREAS, the District operates a number, type and size of schools that is not fiscally and academically sustainable for the number of students in the district; and

WHEREAS, the ongoing operating costs of 30 or more schools annually requires the additional provision of up to $3 million dollars through the Results Based Budgeting system; and

WHEREAS, currently, the district has reduced its operating budget by more than $120 million dollars over the past two years and expects continued revenue reductions from the state over the next year; and

WHEREAS, in order to provide more children with quality school options, encourage more families to choose Oakland public schools, create a sustainable school district that produces results for all children, and deploy staff and money more efficiently and use the savings to invest more resources in Oakland public schools to better serve all students, it is necessary that the District's portfolio of schools be more effectively managed and restructured to accomplish the goals of the Strategic Plan approved by the Board of Education on June 18, 2011; and

WHEREAS, the District's timeline for restructuring includes:

• 2009-2011: School Closures: Paul Robeson, BEST, Explore, Tilden
• 2009-2011: Public Acknowledgements by Superintendent of need for reduction in schools
• 2010-11: Development of Strategic Plan
• June 18, 2011: Unanimous Board Approval of Strategic Plan
• Summer 2011: Development of Restructuring Criteria based on Strategic Plan
• Aug 24: Restructuring Criteria Unanimously Approved by Board of Education
• Sept 7: Study Session: Criteria Applied by staff up to STEP 4 without Recommendations
• Sept 27: Superintendent's Restructuring Recommendations: 1st Reading
• Oct 12: Superintendent's Restructuring Recommendations: 2nd Reading
• Oct. 26: Final Date proposed for Decision-Making re: School Closure
• Nov 1-30: On-site Alternate Schools Options Fairs
• Nov 1-30: Alternate Schools Options Bus Tours
• Nov 1-Dec 5: Separate Options Process: Closing Schools
• Dec 20: Closing Schools: Preliminary Placement Notice
• Jan 1-30: Closing Schools: Preliminary Placement Appeals
• Dec 5- Jan. 20: District-wide Options Process Opens
• Feb-March: Closing Schools: Placement Appeals Response
• Oct-Jun: Receiving Schools Preparation and Transition Support

WHEREAS, in establishing the criteria to restructure the District's portfolio of schools, the District was guided by the following principles that were approved by the Board of Education on August
24, 2011:

• Reinforce quality neighborhood schools by focusing decision‐making on where children live, attend school, and where facilities are designed to sustain quality programs long‐term, and
• Integrate school closure among multiple strategies to achieve goals by transforming low performing schools in high density areas and consolidating multiple schools into high quality single‐school options in some cases, and
• Increase student and family access to quality alternatives by expanding capacity and investing in existing quality schools, and
• Increase quality options by considering innovative program designs, the possible relocation of some school programs intact, and the unique needs of the special education program continuum of service.

WHEREAS, the District identified specific initiatives, aligned to the goals of the Strategic Plan wherein schools that were already engaged in these initiatives would be excluded from consideration for school closure that included: planning and implementation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Corridor wherein schools within a geographic feeder pattern from elementary, middle school to high school are working in collaboration; planning and development of proposed grade configuration changes to result in schools serving grades K-8 or 6- 12; and specific high schools are undergoing a yearlong Transformation process wherein site-based design teams are developing plans for a single high quality school option in place of multiple small schools; and

WHEREAS, in applying the Board adopted criteria, all District schools were rank ordered from where schools are least needed to where schools are most needed based on population density, enrollment, and facility capacity; and

WHEREAS, based on the application of the Board adopted criteria generated an preliminary list of schools for possible school closure, further consideration was given to determine a final list of schools for possible school closure that included: consideration of instances where the academic performance of schools within the preliminary list were demonstrably higher than the district norm and aligned to the goals of the Strategic Plan; consideration of the likely receiving school capacity students may attend, and consideration of the needs of Special Education Programs likely to be impacted by a school closure recommendation; and

WHEREAS, the Superintendent set forth final restructuring recommendations to the Board of Education on September 27, 2011 that included the closure of five elementary schools, the closure of six high schools, the expansion of enrollment capacity of two elementary schools, and the change of grade configuration of one elementary school; and

WHEREAS, as a part of the process, the following community engagements meetings were held at schools recommended for school closure:

• Marshall Elementary: Wednesday, October 5, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
• Santa Fe Elementary: Thursday, October 6, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
• Maxwell Park Elementary: Saturday, October 8, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm
• Lakeview Elementary: Monday, October 10, from 6:00 to 8:00pm
• Lazear Elementary: Tuesday, October 11, from 6:00 to 8:00pm

WHEREAS, families in schools that are being recommended for closure will have priority placement in a priority Options process for the 2012-13 school year, to include scheduled tours, Regional school information fairs, personalized assistance, and consideration of specific transportation and safety needs, as a part of the new school placement process; and

WHEREAS, students in schools that are being recommended for closure will have priority placement in the Options process for the 2012-13 school year that will include parent/guardian submission of four top school preferences to which placement will be prioritized and that at a minimum placements will be made in the nearest available highest performing school based on API; and

WHEREAS, families that receive a placement that is not satisfactory will have the opportunity to appeal their placement both through the District-wide open enrollment Options process, as well as subsequent to that process, as part of the general appeals process - wherein priority placement into available space will continue; and

WHEREAS, Staff in schools that are being recommended for closure will be provided with on-site assistance in the transition process, receive frequent and accurate communications and, subject to collaboration with the District's union partners, will have priority consideration for new placements; and

WHEREAS, decisions related to the reuse, repurposing and disposition of all school buildings associated with schools recommended for closure will, consistent with AB 677 enacted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in August 2011, include community engagement;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT, upon the recommendation of the
Superintendent of Schools, the Board hereby approves and adopts the implementation of the following school portfolio strategies:
Closure of the following schools as of June 30, 2012:

• Lakeview Elementary CDS Code: 01612596001986
•  Lazear Elementary CDS Code: 01612596002000
• Marshall Elementary CDS Code: 01612596001952
• Maxwell Park International Academy CDS Code: 01612596002067
• Santa Fe Elementary CDS Code: 01612596002166

Closure of the following schools as of June 30, 2012:

• Business Information and Technology CDS Code: 01612590102954
• East Oakland School for the Arts CDS Code: 01612590102962
• Leadership Preparatory Academy CDS Code: 01612590107417

Closure of the following schools as of June 30, 2012, pending CDE confirmation as to the assignment of a new CDS code for purposes of the establishment of a single 9-12 high school:

• College Preparatory and Architecture Academy CDS Code: 01612590101063
• Mandela Academy CDS Code: 01612590100826
• Media Academy CDS Code: 01612590100834

Closure of the following school as of June 30, 2012;

• Far West High School CDS Code: 01612590110361

The district will establish a Fashion Academy as an academy of Oakland Technical High School to begin operation at the current Far West High School Campus beginning July 1, 2012.

Closure of the following school as of October 5, 2011*;
Youth Empowerment School CDS Code: 01612590100859
* This action is due in part to CDE's authorizing the transfer of the afterschool program funding to Castlemont to serve students previously enrolled in Youth Empowerment School, therefore eliminating the necessity to continue operation of this school in the current year. Students previously enrolled in the Youth Empowerment School have thus been enrolled in the existing schools currently operating on the Castlemont High School Campus. The date of closure ensures accurate enrollment reporting to the CDE.

Establishment of a single school serving grades 9-12 located at the Castlemont High School campus beginning July 1, 2012.

Establishment of a single school serving grades 9-12 located at the Fremont High School campus beginning July 1, 2012.

Establishment by August 2013 of Kaiser Elementary and Burckhalter Elementary schools within facilities located either at their current location or an alternate suitable location that will allow for the continued growth of each school's enrollment up to at least 380 students.

• A progress report on the proposed plans for the establishment of Kaiser Elementary and Burckhalter Elementary in the aforementioned facilities will be provided to the Board of Education by the Superintendent not later than March 1, 2012.

• A final report on the intended facility plan for each school will be provided to the Board of Education by the Superintendent not later than February 1, 2013.

Closure of Barack Obama Academy school as of July 1, 2011 and Establishment of the Barack Obama Academy program as a program component of Community Day Middle School in partnership with Seneca Center, serving non-expelled referral-based students in grades 7-8 pursuant to established referral criteria, to operate on the satellite campus of Toler Heights Elementary School.

• Conduct an evaluation and provide report to the Board of Education on the academic and financial cost benefits of the Barack Obama Academy program, not later than May 15, 2012.

Initiate the development of a grade configuration change plan to expand the grade configuration of Sobrante Park Elementary and Madison Middle School such that, by August 2013, a single school operates serving students in grades Pre-K through 12.

• Presentation to the Board of Education of a proposal and recommendation to establish Madison Middle School as a secondary school serving students in grades 6-12 not later than December 15, 2011.
• Presentation to the Board of Education of a proposal and recommendation to establish Sobrante Park elementary as the Pre-K - 5 Component of Madison secondary school not later than December 15, 2012, thus establishing a single PreK-12 school to operate on both the current Sobrante Park and Madison Middle School campuses.

Passed by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of a Resolution adopted, at a Regular Meeting of the Governing Board of the Oakland Unified School District held on October 26, 2011.
____________________________
Edgar Rakestraw, Jr.
Secretary, Board of Education
 

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Tags: Audit, school closure, school portfolio management, state controllers office