COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

As a member of Fountain Valley Elementary School District’s Action

Committee for Education, I have spent the last few months reviewing much

of the pertinent data of the proposed unification of the district.

The committee’s goal was to determine the community’s views on

unification. We decided to ascertain this information via a survey.

Despite continued good press (supporting unification) on survey results,

I must clear up a few biased published perceptions with facts.

When asked the very important question, “Will your child’s education

be improved by unification?” only 23% of those responding answered yes.

This figure alone should send up a red flag to the Fountain Valley school

board. Another important question asked, “If unification would mean a

change of home high school, would this be a benefit or detriment?” Only

29% felt this would be a benefit, indicating that parents are relatively

satisfied with their current home high schools.

The children who attend the Huntington Beach schools located within

the Fountain Valley Elementary District and attend Talbert as their

middle school generally attend either Edison or Huntington Beach high

schools. These children would, under a unified district, need

inter-district transfers to attend these schools.

Last year, approximately 185 of 210 graduating Talbert eighth-graders

did not go to Fountain Valley High School. The current administration

suggests that a handshake agreement guaranteeing inter-district transfer

can be made with the high school district. I sincerely doubt it will be

that easy considering the vast sums of money at stake for both districts.

It is my belief the elementary district schools are very well-served

by the current district alignment. Administrators and board members are

active and visible on all campuses. This is what makes the elementary

district great and why a small vocal community group is pushing for

unification.

Perhaps these same people should put their energy into getting the

high school district to be more visible and active, rather than upsetting

the factors keeping Fountain Valley Elementary District strong.

The large growth in district size under a unification plan will

strangle the superintendent and staff with new challenges, thus likely

diluting time and energy now spent on current sites, creating a no-win

situation for everyone.

The superintendent cites increased funding as an important factor in

considering unifying the district. While it is true a unified district

receives slightly larger per-pupil funding, it is also true that costs

will rise significantly. What guarantee do they have that Fountain Valley

High School teachers will remain at their schools while the new district

struggles to bring teacher’s salaries from the former elementary

districts up to scale? What funds are going to be used to fix sinking

buildings at Fountain Valley High School?

As a close friend asked me at dinner the other night “Is the new

unified district prepared to pay rent for a football stadium? Is it

prepared to pay rent for an auditorium for its high school dance

performances and award ceremonies?” Or, perhaps is it in the plans to

have a bond passed to fund the building of these needed facilities.

This brings up another interesting dilemma. If a bond is passed, and

the survey results say 47% would approve a bond, those same parents who

choose to send their children to Huntington Beach or Edison high schools,

and all the homeowners south of Garfield Avenue (within district lines)

will be forced to pay for improvements to Fountain Valley High School.

For the parents of 1,600 out of 6,300 students in the district who may

wish to continue to send their children to either Huntington Beach High

School or Edison High School, what will they gain by unification?

Nothing.

The answer is clear; unification may be good for a few but certainly

not all. Those parents who currently have children attending Newland, Oka

and Talbert schools need to have a clear understanding of what

unification would mean to them. Once informed, they need to let the

school board know where they stand.

LANCE PINKHAM

Fountain Valley