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| The Mount Miguel High School JROTC Color Guard presents the colors as the Governing Board paused to pay tribute to the lives lost on September 11, 2001. |
Last night was our first
school board meeting for the 2014-15
school year. The Mount Miguel High School JROTC Color Guard presented the
colors as we paused to pay tribute to the lives lost on September 11, 2001, a
day that we will always remember.
During the meeting, our Governing
Board passed Resolution 2015-02, expressing serious concerns about the proposed Alpine
unification initiative.
We were deeply
disappointed that the County Committee on School District Organization recently
supported a petition for unification of the Alpine School District. This decision
may have a very devastating impact on the students, staff and communities
within our District.
The Grossmont Board
took action to reaffirm its opposition to the Alpine unification petition
because of the obvious limitations a unified Alpine district would face in
being able to commit the financial resources needed to build and operate a high
school that could provide educational and co-curricular programs comparable to
those presently offered in the Grossmont District. We believe that the
additional financial complexities associated with construction and staffing of a high school, meeting the increased
operating expenses, and funding the more expensive programs necessary in a
comprehensive high school, are beyond their financial capacity.
Our Governing Board has responsibly
concluded that the Grossmont District cannot afford to incur the additional fixed costs
of over $1 million annually, required to operate a new school at
this time. Our Board has further indicated that it will
proceed with the construction of a new school in Alpine when enrollment numbers
increase to the level identified in the Proposition U Bond language. That bond language included an enrollment
“trigger” of 23,245 in our comprehensive high schools (including our two
charter high schools). We are currently
2,400 students below that number, with further declines projected.
More concerning,
is the action taken by the County Board in their decision to ignore the legally
prescribed process for the division of assets and liabilities, and to instead
accept the emotional appeals of the petitioners to liquidate up to $70 million
dollars in assets (existing schools and classrooms) and then hand them over to
Alpine. Should the process ultimately
yield such an outcome, it would significantly disrupt the educational programs presently
offered throughout the district, and dramatically limit the educational options
available to our students. It is hard to
believe that the group of elected members sitting on the County Board would
support a recommendation that would devastate the learning experiences of the
students at all GUHSD schools. I am deeply troubled that the County Board of Education
has taken an action that disregards the educational programs for the students
who make up 96% of the high school students residing in East County.
The legal process I am referring to is defined in Education
Code 35560. In the definition of how
assets are to be divided in the unification process, the law states that
property will be retained by the District in which territory it resides.
Therefore, the land currently owned by Grossmont in Alpine (valued at $23
million) would be transferred to an Alpine Unified School District. All other
district-owned property would remain with Grossmont. All district fund balances except for capital
would be divided based on enrollment. Currently, approximately 4% of students
in the Grossmont district reside within the proposed new Alpine Unified
district. Total funds transferred would
be less than $6.0 million.
The petitioners persuaded
the County Board to deviate from this approach, proposing that all of
Grossmont’s assets be considered in identifying Alpine’s “share”. This is not
possible in that the assets they suggest be transferred do not exist in
monetary form. Ed. Code 35560 stipulates
that real and personal property are divided pro rata, as explained above. By following the petitioners’ thinking, the
County is sending a recommendation to Sacramento that could lead to fiscal
insolvency for Grossmont.
The County Board’s
decision to forward this unification proposal to the California Department of Education,
and ultimately the State Board of Education, may one day bring the question of
unification and the division of assets and liabilities before the voters for
final approval. Our Board believes that all
registered voters residing in the Grossmont Union High School District should
be entitled to participate in a decision that will impact our school community.
The County Board
is recommending that only voters in Alpine should be allowed to vote. On behalf of the families in our district
(especially the 96% that would not have a voice in the fate of their district),
I strenuously object. Should this
election eventually come to pass, I will be urging the State Board of Education to recommend an area of election that
includes all of the Grossmont District. Given the significant impacts to both districts and their communities,
Alpine and Grossmont, it is imperative that the territory of election include
the areas of both districts. All stakeholders should have a voice in the
ultimate outcome, in the unlikely event that the State Board one day approves
this ill-advised petition.
We will be taking all necessary steps
to stop this process from being endorsed by the State Board of Education in
Sacramento. I will keep you informed on future developments.
Ralf Swenson
Superintendent
Ralf Swenson
Superintendent
