Criteria for School Closure Close to Being Finalized

Figures being used to determine which of the Fountain Valley School District’s eight elementary schools will be recommended for attracted debate Tuesday in the lead up to the final committee meeting on the subject.

The potential to lose students to neighboring districts and projections on declining enrollment will play a large factor in deciding which school will be presented to the school board for potential closure.

Projection enrollment numbers provided by an outside firm drew the ire of some parents from Fred Moiola K-8 School, which has drawn a large group of supporters objecting to any school closure.     

“I don’t understand why we’re even considering closing any school if the committee decided against using these numbers,” Lisa Allen, a Moiola parent, said.

A 12-7 vote from the committee in May means that a school will be recommended for closure, but the final decision rests with the school board. Closing a school would net the district an estimated $400,000 in savings.

The numbers provided by Decision Insight offered enrollment projections significantly different from what the school district projected. At Moiola, the firm projected an 87 percent decline in enrollment by 2016, compared to the 20 percent drop the district suggested.   

Committee members were asked if they would prefer to eliminate enrollment projections from the criteria list, but the committee unanimously rejected the idea, preferring to use the school district’s numbers instead of the numbers provided by Decision Insight. The committee also debated whether it needed the API of surrounding schools—potential competition to steal students—but eventually voted against the suggestion.

A round of votes put the committee closer to deciding the .    

Committee member Kaz Augustus, a parent from Courreges, said evaluating a school on a criteria point like travel distance was difficult because there is no way to “empirically measure the information.”

"I am not comfortable with the way we’re ranking based on the data that we are presented," he said.

After eight committee meetings, Augustus said he is unsure about losing a school, but that he understands why it might be the right decision.

“I go back and forth…,” Augustus said. “When you look at the cost savings and the families affected you don’t want to close a school. If we weren’t in such harsh economic times, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion."

The final committee meeting will take place on Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m.