Survey shows families favor unified school district

Angelique Flores

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- Results from a recent survey on unifying the

Fountain Valley School District showed that 42% of the respondents favor

district unification.

These surveys -- which are still being tallied -- show numbers that

are closer than officials expected. Officials are able to determine a

trend among district parents, Supt. Marc Ecker said.

Since November, district officials have been seriously examining the

effects of reorganizing from a kindergarten through eighth-grade school

district to a kindergarten through 12th-grade unified school district.

The board has now turned to the community to gauge its support.

“This is another slice of the pie,” Ecker said.

The survey went out to district families who are the most easily

accessible and most immediately affected by a unification.

So far, 24% of the parent community has responded. The district

expects 37% to respond.

Of the surveys tabulated, 42% favor unification, 21.3% oppose it and

33.1% don’t know yet.

“The numbers are closer than I thought they would be,” Ecker said.

Also shown by the survey, 27.9% support unification along school

district lines, 27.1% support unification along city lines, 15.1% support

either one and 24.2% are still unsure of how they feel.

“We need to look at all our options,” Trustee Tony McCombs said.

The biggest concern with 68.1% of the respondents was with keeping

consistent district goals in the event of unifying.

With 59% percent of respondents saying they were unaware of the

district’s exploration of unifying, the board is still looking to inform

more in the community, including those outside the district.

“There are a lot of people out there we have yet to talk to,” Trustee

Joanne Lew said.

The board indicated that the most critical component to a unification

is the effect it will have on all the students in the impacted area.

While the district’s families will be most impacted, the issue will rest

in the hands of the voters of the community, 85% of which don’t have

children in the schools.

More surveys have yet to be tabulated and turned in to the district

office. A final report and analysis will be presented to the board March

15.