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Bonsall pushes to unify schools

Petitioners taking the first step toward unifying the Bonsall Union School District and that portion of the Fallbrook Union High School District met before the San Diego County Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Randolph E. Ward on Monday night at the Bonsall Community Center.

The public hearing on the petition focused primarily on building a high school in the Bonsall area to accommodate students enrolled in its district.

About 50 parents with young children in tow listened to arguments for and against the petition, applauding those individuals speaking on behalf of the high school. Presenting the initial argument for the school were Darlene McCabe and Jennifer Leung, Bonsall parents of young children. Both women are also teachers. They were responsible for acquiring the petition signatures. Starting in 2006, for almost a year, they, plus other volunteer parents, walked neighborhoods in Bonsall to obtain signatures from the required 25 percent of registered voters living in the district.

“We actually got more than 25 percent,” McCabe said. She and Leung were recruited by the former superintendent of the Bonsall district because of their success working on Prop C, said McCabe.

“He knew we were both teachers who had young children and as educators understood the importance of a quality education.”

She also said that adding a high school to the Bonsall district would enable students to transition more easily from elementary through middle school onto high school, noting the district’s three kindergarten through fifth grade elementary schools, and Sullivan Middle School, which accommodates grades six through eight, permit students to continue their education with the same kids. Adding a high school in the same area would provide the final step in this process.

Moreover, said Bonsall school board president Lou Riddle, “We simply feel we can do the job better with our own kids in our own neighborhood.”

While many Bonsall parents agreed a high school is needed in Bonsall, Chet Gannett, assistant superintendent of the Fallbrook Union High School District reported that the loss of income to their district would amount to $3,268,000 in state aid alone if the current Bonsall students, who represent 17 percent of the population, were removed.

Gannett says he based the percentage on the 571 students currently enrolled with Bonsall addresses. A complete analysis of the fiscal impact concerned county school board member Nick Aguilar; it will likely be answered when the feasibility report is competed.

Although the Bonsall district plans encompass a small high school with a student population of no more than 1,000, the number of students living in Bonsall who attend high school has only grown by slightly more than 500 in the last ten years. Some say it could easily take another ten years before enough students ready for high school live in the district.

Tom Anthony, superintendent of FUHS, listed the many educational assets at Fallbrook’s comprehensive high school, including its arts programs, specialized agriculture curriculum and its 20-1 classes in English and mathematics. He further said that removing 17 percent of the enrollment might result in the school losing its Division One status.

Fallbrook Union High School District Board President Bill O’Connor brought forth an idea that would lead to more massive change: “…Perhaps even look seriously at unifying all four school districts [Fallbrook Union High School District, Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, Bonsall Union School District and Vallecitos School District] to best utilize the financial resources.”

Regardless of the Fallbrook district’s comprehensive capability, not all Sullivan Middle School graduates attend Fallbrook High School. Some parents have elected to send their children to Linfield Christian School, Cathedral Catholic High Schools or Guajome Park Academy in Vista, said McCabe.

While FUHS has a long-range plan to build two more high schools once the demographics warrant it, average home prices in the greater Fallbrook area have become cost-prohibitive for many young families. However, Jennifer Leung points out, the Pardee and Beezer developments could provide enough students in the long term. But petitioning the county is the first step of many on the road to finding out if Bonsall can have its own high school.

The county has 120 days to examine the petition, during which time a feasibility study will provide greater insight. If approved, the state will have up to two years to review the information, Leung said. Another public hearing follows, with a final ballot vote in November 2010.

“We are committed to spending money on our children’s education,” Leung said. “This step officially opens the debate.”

 

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