FCUSD Approves Closure of Cordova Lane and Riverview Elementaries
In a decision Board President Ed Short said was “heart-wrenching,” the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board of Education approved the closure of Cordova Lane and Riverview Elementaries at a meeting held Thursday night.
“I know for me personally, combining schools is not something I want to do,” Short said to the packed audience in the Cordova High School gymnasium.
Council Member Linda Budge expressed her dissatisfaction with the process and the reasoning the district used to come to the decision. “Everyone in government is struggling to do more with less,” she said in reference to the district’s assertion that the state budget has forced the school closures. She also noted that the reports issued by the district about the schools contained conflicting data.
Budge also admonished the district’s ultimate decision to close the schools. “It will hurt the future of our kids, it will hurt the future of our city,” she said, and she urged board members to stall the decision for two to three months and come up alternative cost-saving measures.
Mayor Dan Skoglund also addressed the board, saying the transition to new schools would be “difficult for families to do.” Skoglund said he and his wife, Pamela, could not imagine having been in the situation parents currently face when his children were young. He also echoed Budge’s sentiment about extending the timeline for the decision. “Please consider delaying this a little bit so other entities might be able to assist you,” he said.
The Board preceded the decision with an explanation of the state’s budget woes and how deep education budget cuts led to the board’s current situation.
“We are at a very precarious position financially,” said Debbie Bettencourt, the district’s deputy superintendent. “There is question of whether we will be able to meet our financial obligations next year.” She also said the district has exhausted all of its “easy options,” and the only remedy to the district’s budget gap is to make ”some very difficult choices.”
Bettencourt detailed potential ways the district could continue to save money over the coming school year, including charging for summer school, eliminating freshman sports and increasing student care fees. “You can see that each one of them will have an impact to our students or our staff,” she said. The district’s budget shortfall will continue to be discussed by the board at future meetings, and the district is hoping to close the gap before March 2010.
Bettencourt also talked about a survey the district had taken with property owners over a potential parcel tax to help ease the budget strain of the district. The results, Bettencourt said, indicated that a parcel tax is not feasible due to the survey responses they received indicating they would not receive a 66 percent ‘yes’ vote for an initiative to institute a parcel tax.
Vice Mayor Ken Cooley expressed concerns over the district’s finding that a parcel tax is not feasible. “There is a question of how capable the analysis is that was given to you,” he said. “With all due respect, I think that there is a lot of talent outside of this room… that should be brought into this conversation.”
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- August 24, 2010 – Sacramento County Teachers of the Year 2011 to Be Announced September 1st
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I applaud the Rancho Cordova City Council for their courage in addressing the FCUSD Board on this very tough issue. The manner in which this issue was handled again raises to the surface the idea of splitting the district. It’s time for Rancho Cordova to take care of Rancho Cordova’s children and form our own school district with contiguous boundaries within the City of Rancho Cordova. The citizens of the City deserve “One Community” and one government entity to hold accountable not four disjointed and disconnected school boards. If there’s a bright spot in this situation it is that maybe a charter school can move into one or both of these locations and revitalize the facility and reignite learning opportunities for the children left without a school. This community should act quickly to start or attract a top notch charter school to our community to fill the gap left by the FCUSD before these facilities are beyond utilization.
I agree. It seems like FCUSD favors Folsom. I am sure many people share this concern when the ax falls Rancho Cordova gets hit. Maybe if the Super was a resident of one of cities instead of an outsider things might be different.
This is a huge decision with big implications for the future. We need to stand together in this time, continue to find our voice in the community, and do what is best for local kids.
I am competely disgusted that such a common sense decision was made incorrectly. The office building being built by the school district needs to be halted or done away with. Money is earmarked all the time but in times like this, sometimes plans and financial need changes. That is a selfish decision made by the board.
The school closures represent another slap in the face to the city of Rancho Cordova. Our city council just sat on their hands until they were challenged to make their voices heard. If not challenged, they would have just said, “not my responsibility or authority”. They could have called a special meeting weeks ago to discuss this topic with a briefing from FCUSD. After that, they should have written a letter signed by all board members ala the one they sent regarding Greg Feill, the CRPD Administrator. In my opinion the council’s response was too meek and too little to make a difference… a disgrace.
This council has had time to evolve the city of Rancho Cordova into a whole and has not met the challenge. I am sorry if some of you thought the council’s presence at the FCUSD meeting was gallant. Their whole response as representatives of the City of Rancho Cordova showed a collective lack of leadership abilities. In my mind, they sold us down the river.
I also am completly disgusted with yet another slap in the face to Rancho Cordova. As Linda Budge pointed out, if you factor in a school’s capacity vs enrollment, there is at least one school in Folsom that should close also. Why not save the district another $600k and close two Folsom schools?
The worst part of all of this is the fact that the district HAS ALREADY STARTED CONSTRUCTION ON THEIR NEW 4 STORY DISTRICT OFFICE!!!!!
They say the money is coming from Measure M, a bond passed in 2007 which authorized a tax to homeowners on homes built in the area north of Douglas, and east of Sunrise. NO HOMES HAVE BEEN BUILT THERE YET!! Yet, they have already graded the property for their new office.
I am also of the understanding that the Measure N money (set aside for facilities) that we pay taxes on for upgrading our new schools, can be used on their district office because it is being built in the city limits, and it is a facility…
What a coincidence, the two schools chosen to close have Measure N money in reserves, and it was to be spent this year on Cordova Lane. When asked what would be done with the money, they had various answers….It will be dispersed among other RC area schools…. It will be saved for when we can re-open the schools…..
Just like they said, they would re-open Walnutwood, right?
Rumor has it that they overspent their funds at Cordova High, and could use some of that money to finish Cordova High….Then they will use the money to upgrade the District offices…you know, upgrade current irrigation systems, fencing, (right now it is construction site chain link) etc..
Common sense tells me that they can do without their new district palace until such a time when the whole economy goes into an upturn.
The FCUSD school board deserves great praise for what was accomplished last night. The student population in Rancho has been shifting for years. This was not a Rancho versus Folsom issue anymore than the fact that the North-of-highway-50 Rancho area has been losing hundreds of kids over the years–while Folsom keeps gaining more students. (Bottom line: Folsom is just a more kid-supportive community. It even explains why students at Rancho public schools attend end-of-school-year celebrations up at Folsom’s water park, visit the Folsom zoo or museum for field trips, and some Cordova High students also go to Folsom Community College–courses the R.C. community does not/cannot provide.) In many respects on this Rancho school closing process, the State of California budget problems were a blessing in disguise for all the students of the FCUSD–and for the taxpayers. What kind of taxpayer would want to pay for half/part-empty/underutilized schools anyway? The educational programs and services for kids provided at Cordova Lane and Riverview can merge and for the most part easily be transferred to the students’ new R.C. school site. Sure, one large school instead of two small schools may not always feel as close or as personal, but its not like next school year Riverview and Cordova Lane Elementary kids are going to be attending mega-size elementary schools either. (Realize some California kids attend schools that have more than 1,000-plus elementary students–complete with the long lines of portable trailer classrooms–and sometimes even multiple lunch schedules to handle the crowds.) And its not like Williamson, Peter Shields, and Rancho Cordova Elementary are 45 minute car drives away from home either–something some California students must endure every school day. How many kids in California get to transfer to a another school, only to end up in a fully-stocked and operational facility–complete with bona fide classrooms, seasoned at-the-ready teachers–even fully-grown trees on the playground yards for shade–and other perks? Rancho residents should be praising Allah and counting their lucky stars at how relatively painless these school closings/mergers were compared to what some other California school districts experienced. It was an excellent outcome on the part of the FCUSD officials, even if the process to get there was performed horridly. Now, things like books for the school library, PE supplies, art materials, science kits, technology support, and other learning aids can be shared by more students at the new combined school sites. Teachers and school staff can focus on groups of kids with particular learning concerns, instead of trying to help the one student here or there at separate schools. PTA’s and school/family partnerships will be made stronger after the changeover. In all–if done right–this school change process can have a synergistic positive outcome for both the students and the community–not a net loss. Now, if only the leaders of Rancho and the FCUSD can act wisely: They should make sure that the Riverview and Cordova Lane sites are used for purposes to entice more kids and families back to Rancho. The most-worst outcomes would be for the closed schools to be a senior center or some other fuddy-duddy that is cutesy, but of no or little benefit to our youngest residents–and the family population core that Rancho keeps losing (unless the community chooses to be a retirement community, or some other long-term strategic goal). And shame to the FCUSD if the playbook is to just use the closed school sites for more bureacratic layers of offices, personnel training facilites, or more cell-sites for FCUSD program headquarters and personnel. If the plan is to keep kids in Rancho, community members need to push to make Riverview and Cordova Lane actual learning and concept opportunity centers for children: creative and performing arts, recreation/discovery centers, science/environmental (this would be especially fantastic for Riverview–with the school adjacent to the American River Parkway), technology/industrial arts/career–pretty-much-you-name-it–anything that makes people just wish and pray they could live in Rancho so their family and friends could also have the opportunities like Rancho kids and their families are enjoying. This could actually be a baby-step for a resurgence and rebirth for the more-established sections of Rancho Cordova if it is played right. How many communities end up with a couple of rock-solid well-maintained state-of-the-art multi-million dollar expansive at-the-ready infrastructures–just begging to be used for a worthy cause?
Thank you to all of the residents who support saving Cordova Lane. Our SOS Committee that was formed in October will be working hard to raise funds to save our school. This is a massive undertaking and to some, must seem crazy, but for those of us who purchased our homes so that our kids could attend school right down the street, this means everything to us! Yes- why should we have to pay, this is a public school, however, in the times we’re in, we’re willing to take this on! Closed schools hurt our community – abandoned buildings will hurt my neighborhood. The kids are our future and Cordova Lane is at 84% capacity; has high API scores, a very involved PARENT GROUP, special programs and a central location to just name a few reasons why we want to keep our school open. We’re calling on all residents and businesses! We need to raise $300,000 by March 1- The great people of Rancho Cordova and beyond can help us do this. A little here, a little there. Please follow our journey on the SAVE CORDOVA LANE facebook page or email us at SAVECORDOVALANE@YAHOO.COM if you would like to help.
Thank you!
No the school board does not deserve praise for what was done to our community. We at Riverview are very proud of our small school. Yes we are small, I like it that way. My daughter will not recieve more attention at a school with twice as many students, she will recieve less. We are able to focus on smaller groups of students who need the extra help. We can do this because we have less students. We don’t need to travel to the next school to have PE equipment, books for our library, and computers. We HAVE all those things most of which we are very proud to say we have provided through our wonderful PTA. The district has given us something though.. yes, two BRAND NEW playgrounds. we were able to remove the caution tape from TWO brand new play structures just days before the first community forum regarding closing our school. We were never meant to be a large school and we shouldn’t be punished for that now. We have made great strides in improving our test scores and have been able to put on a first rate reading program that has benefitted all of our students. I personally feel FCUSD has made a huge mistake in voting to close our small school. If they truly had the best interests of the students at heart they would have done many things very differently namely by sharing the burden of closures with folsom instead of lying about Folsoms enrollment numbers. Mark my words come next year they will miraculously find a way to avoid closing any schools in Folsom, they may even look back to Rancho for round two.