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“We are unified in every sense except
we are not receiving any of the benefits
that come with unification.”
-Superintendent
Bill McCabe
Following
four public hearings regarding the proposed unification of the Yosemite
Joint Union High School District and Coarsegold Elementary School
District, the Madera County Committee on School District Organization
has until January 1, 2004 to recommend approval or disapproval of
the petition.
The public has until mid-November to submit written testimony on the
unification proposal. This should be mailed to the Madera County Office
of Education, 28123 Avenue 14, Madera, CA 93638.
The public hearings were held in Raymond and Coarsegold September
3 and at Oak Creek Intermediate School and Yosemite High School September
4.
Following an explanation of the petition to unify, members of the
public had an opportunity to address the committee members on the
proposal.
While several people at each public hearing expressed support of the
petition, others expressed concerns including trustee areas, money
and local control.
Both of the district boards of trustees have recommended that there
be seven members on a unified board, if the petition passes, with
three from the Coarsegold area, three from within the boundaries of
the Bass Lake Joint Union Elementary District and one from Raymond.
While the board members would be elected from trustee areas, they
would be elected at-large, meaning everyone within the unified district
would vote for them.
The county committee can change the number of people on the board
and can also change the way they are elected.
If the county committee approves the petition to unify, it will then
be forwarded to the State Board of Education. At the state level,
there is no time limit in which action must be taken. A staff member
for the Madera County Office of Education said there is currently
a 12-18 month backlog in Sacramento. It is anticipated that the state
board would not hold a hearing on the petition until sometime in the
middle of 2005. If the state board approved the petition, the voters
within the boundaries of the proposed unified district would then
have an opportunity to vote.
The MCOE believes the earliest unification could occur would be the
2006-07 school year.
The petition could be stopped at the county level, the state level
or by the voters. If it is disapproved at any level, the process ends.
The boards of trustees from both districts approved the petition in
May.
There are nine criteria that must be met before districts can unify.
A private consultant hired by the two districts determined that all
the criteria were met. The county committee will conduct a feasibility
study before making a recommendation.
The petition is a Thompson Unification (named for the legislator who
wrote the law making it possible). It allows one elementary school
district to unify with a high school district while other districts
remain independent. In the local case, Bass Lake Joint Union Elementary
District and Raymond - Knowles Union Elementary District would remain
separate and independent.
When districts unify, there is a leveling of funding per student.
It is estimated that the unified district would receive approximately
$1.1 million per year in additional revenue.
While a large portion
of those extra funds would go toward salary increases to put all of
the employees of the unified district on the same salary schedule,
figures from the feasibility study completed for the two districts
indicate that there would be money left for the general fund of the
unified district. The unified board would determine how that money
would be spent.
For the past three years, the Coarsegold and Yosemite districts have
shared the services of a superintendent, business manager, cafeteria
manager and transportation manager. Superintendent Bill McCabe pointed
out that if the districts unify it will decrease the amount of administrative
work. As it is now, there are two of everything - audits, reports,
budgets, board meetings and so forth. If the districts unify, there
would be one budget, one audit, one of each report and one board.
“We are unified in every sense except we are not receiving any of
the benefits that come with unification,” McCabe said.
The county committee will consider all of the testimony given at the
public hearings, along with any written testimony, before making its
decision.
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