dev.citrusheightssentinel.com

Tag: kent kern

  • Board decides final fate of Sylvan Middle School

    Updated Nov. 19, 7:29 a.m.–
    In a 4-0 vote Tuesday night, San Juan Unified School District board members made the controversial decision to move students from Sylvan Middle School over to the adjacent Citrus Heights Elementary campus in 2016, rejecting an alternative proposal to rebuild the aging school for an estimated cost of $44 million.

    Prior story, updated Nov. 18, 11:15 a.m.–
    San Juan Unified School District board members are set to take final action Tuesday night on the superintendent’s controversial recommendation to move students from an aging Sylvan Middle School campus over to a modernized Citrus Heights Elementary facility, and move existing elementary students over to a consolidated K-5 school at Carriage Drive Elementary.

    The proposal has drawn fire from parents who advocate rebuilding Sylvan school, with about a dozen people speaking out against the superintendent’s recommendation at an October board meeting. They have also brought the matter up during public comment at several city council meetings, emphasizing Sylvan’s history in the community and citing concerns about displacing students — particularly those with special needs.

    Highlighting declining enrollment and an estimated rebuild cost of over $44 million, Superintendent Kent Kern has rejected the rebuild proposal in favor of his modernization-and-consolidation plan — a plan estimated to cost less than half the amount to rebuild the school, according to recommendation documents included in the Board’s October 28 agenda packet.

    The proposed $18.3 million modernization at Citrus Heights Elementary would provide for additional facilities, including four new science labs, a music room and restrooms. It would also include interior and exterior modernization, expansion of parking and drop-off areas, and several other facility updates, according to Board documents.

    Board members have not revealed how they would ultimately vote, but recently re-elected board member Greg Paulo expressed some skepticism as to the accuracy of the numbers — citing past experience with San Juan High School renovation estimates, according to the October 28 meeting’s draft minutes. His colleague Saul Hernandez commented that the school would not be closing, but rather moving “200 yards” over to the Citrus Heights Elementary campus.

    If approved, consolidation of the two elementary schools would begin with the 2015-16 school year, and Sylvan students would move over to the nearby modernized Citrus Heights Elementary beginning with the 2016-17 school year, according to the recommendation on the November 18 meeting agenda. Existing Sylvan school facilities would either be demolished or used for other District programs and services.

    Discussion about a possible closure of Sylvan began after the school received a “D-” grade from a District-wide DLR Group facility assessment.  The report also found around “$1.5 billion in ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ projects” across the District, in addition to $400 million in ongoing projects.

    Editor’s note: for more background on the Sylvan controversy, see prior story here: Sup’t to recommend District close, move Sylvan school

  • TUES NIGHT: Sup’t to recommend school board close, move Sylvan

    Superintendent Kent Kern Tuesday night will recommend San Juan Unified School District board members approve a controversial proposal to shift Citrus Heights Elementary students to Carriage Drive Elementary, and move Sylvan Middle School students over to an $18.2 million modernized Citrus Heights Elementary campus, saying it’s a cost-efficient way to handle problems with Sylvan’s deteriorating building and declining enrollment.

    schools_sylvanmiddleschoolRejecting a popular proposal from vocal parents who advocate rebuilding the 76-year-old Sylvan school, Kern’s closure-and-consolidation recommendation would cost $10-20 million less than the $44 million estimated to rebuild the school — or the $30.8 million now estimated to “fix” it, according to recommendation documents included in the Board’s October 28 agenda packet.

    Kern’s closure recommendation also highlights declining enrollment figures which show Citrus Heights schools are only utilizing 63 percent of their enrollment capacity, indicating while 2016-17 projected K-8 enrollment is 5,085 students, there’s unused capacity for over 3,000 more pupils.

    Upset parents have vowed to show up in numbers at Tuesday’s meeting, as they did at a September 25 forum last month, pushing for a “state-of-the-art” rebuilt Sylvan, or at least a one-year delay on a final decision to allow more time to consider funding options and other alternatives. They have also brought the matter up during public comment at several recent city council meetings, emphasizing their desire for closeby “neighborhood schools” and citing concerns about displacing students — particularly those with special needs.

    According to Kern’s recommendation documents,  staff “considered and investigated” potentially delaying a decision, but rejected the idea “after speaking with members of city council as well as the city planning department, and considering the other impacts.”

    Vice Mayor Sue Frost wrote in a recent newsletter that “schools are not under the purview of the city council,” but said she wrote a letter to the SJUSD Board regarding the matter.

    “In my letter to the School Board, I have supported the parents in their effort to save Sylvan Middle School if at all possible, and if not, I have request[ed] that the Board please make the transition as easy on students and parents as possible,” the vice mayor said in her October 27 newsletter. She also said several council members will be present at Tuesday’s Board meeting.

    Although the Board will hear the matter Tuesday night, a final vote is expected at its November 18 meeting.

    —
    View the full recommendation documents in the October 28 board agenda packet here:
    http://bit.ly/Oct28Agenda

    San Juan Unified School District
    Board of Education meeting
    October 28, 2014
    6:30 p.m.
    3738 Walnut Avenue
    Carmichael, CA