Districts need to look at creative saving solutions
The Hollister School District is facing reform by necessity, and
the wave won’t necessarily stop with the recent decision to
restrict the number of inter-district transfers who have left at an
increasing rate.
Hollister trustees and the first-year superintendent are hoping
that by limiting the number of inter-district departures
– including more than 600 this school year – it will increase
the city district’s enrollment and, therefore, its funding levels
from the state by between $1.5 million and $3 million annually. It
is the latest move in an attempt to close continual, significant
budget shortfalls, partly due to the
enrollment decline sustained through the loosely regulated
inter-district transfer program.
Districts need to look at creative saving solutions
The Hollister School District is facing reform by necessity, and the wave won’t necessarily stop with the recent decision to restrict the number of inter-district transfers who have left at an increasing rate.
Hollister trustees and the first-year superintendent are hoping that by limiting the number of inter-district departures – including more than 600 this school year – it will increase the city district’s enrollment and, therefore, its funding levels from the state by between $1.5 million and $3 million annually. It is the latest move in an attempt to close continual, significant budget shortfalls, partly due to the enrollment decline sustained through the loosely regulated inter-district transfer program.
But it won’t be the last bold, cost-cutting move from the district, because it can’t be. The district has a negative fiscal certification from the California Department of Education and, if trustees can’t balance the budget, it faces a state takeover. The Hollister school board has dealt with major yearly deficits in recent times, as trustees have cut more than $11 million in just the past two years. Another 33.5 full-time-equivalent positions are on the chopping block for next school year, too, a number dependent on the governor’s proposal to extend a set of 2009 tax increases.
While Hollister trustees should gradually make the transition with the inter-district transfers – by grandfathering in families already enrolled in other districts and avoiding a bombshell of chaos throughout the entire community – they are going to have to keep their options open elsewhere, too. They will have to seriously consider getting more creative.
For one, it is beyond ludicrous that a county with 55,000 residents includes 11 school districts. It is fair to surmise that thousands, if not millions, of local tax dollars are being wasted annually because every little pocket of this community wants everything its own, specific way.
For the good of the entire county and the state of local education, for the future of this community’s long-term economic and cultural health, the mentality must change and compromise must trump self-interests. Some districts are geographically isolated and run with high efficiencies. They are not necessarily the problem. The logical starting point for a consolidation study is to have an outside consultant examine the feasibility of merging the Hollister and San Benito High School districts, while it is worth having Southside, North County (Spring Grove) and Tres Pinos districts in the mix as well. Of course, that would require sacrifice by some of the entities and, to this point, nobody has been willing to take the lead.
Hollister district officials, along with county Superintendent Mike Sanchez, would have the most influential voices necessary to lobby for such a pursuit. Their leadership would be a required precursor to any movement on the topic.
Another realistic and worthwhile possibility for the district in the coming years is the launch of a charter school. A group of locals started discussing the idea last year, and with all the contention over the inter-district transfer policy, it makes sense to to continue those talks. To its credit, Hollister has started offering alternatives to traditional classroom environments with the Dual Language Academy and Academic Achievement Academy. Offering another option would help to curb the tension over the transfer restrictions.
Beyond looking to the outside, have any trustees or administrators broached the possibility of closing any lower-performing schools within the Hollister district? It hasn’t appeared to arise as a serious prospect to this point, but perhaps it should.
Hollister trustees are faced with making many tough decisions in the coming years. This might just be the beginning.
