School Closure Committee Establishes Evaluation Criteria

The Fountain Valley School District's School Boundaries and Closure Committee presented its criteria Tuesday night that will be used to evaluate each of the district's schools in regard to potential closure.

The criteria presented 17 items used to rank schools on a points-earned system, but the list was eventually cut down to 10.

School site utilization figures, a major factor in the decision to close a school, will be considered. The figure for each school is based on a formula that uses number of classrooms, acres of land, maximum enrollment, current enrollment and average class size. Cox scored highest in utilization at 76.1 percent, followed closely by Courreges 73.2 percent. Ranking lowest were Newland and Oka, with 39 percent and 43.7 percent.

The criteria included several points that needed further study. Committee members admitted that most programs could be easily moved from campus to campus, as few require special facilities. The ranking of schools based on potential value if sold or leased was admittedly in need of definition, as noted on the distributed handouts.

Safety factors such as close proximity to busy streets put Plavin and Oka under scrutiny, while parent involvement figures also proved difficult for the committee to assess.

“Schools operating under PTA guidelines follow stricter standards for reporting volunteer hours, while PTO schools are more relaxed in the accounting," said Steve McMahon, assistant superintendent for business. "The numbers just don’t represent the same efforts, but all of the schools enjoy great parent support.”

The use of portable classrooms was identified as a negative, but portables used as centers for extended school programs were not included in the count. A ranking of schools based on enrollment and projected enrollments will be considered, as well as concern for losing students to other school districts.

McMahon said that the physical condition of any one campus will not be a determining factor in the comittee's recommendation because all of the district's campuses have been modernized.