UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Upper Lake Union Elementary School District Board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to approve a resolution to unify with the Upper Lake Union High School District.
The decision sets the stage for a separate vote by the high school district board next week and hearings that the Lake County Office of Education intends to hold later this month.
More than two dozen parents, teachers, high school board members and other community residents attended the 80-minute meeting, which took place in the Upper Lake Middle School cafeteria.
Much of the meeting involved parents raising concerns about the schools and asking questions about how various aspects of school operations would be impacted by the unification – from transportation to special education, insurance to parent teacher organizations, consistency in education to sports.
During public comment, Walt Christensen, a former district board member and a vocal critic of the unification proposal, told board members he was very opposed to the action.
He said costs are anticipated to rise in the first two years, and it's not certain if those costs will go down. There also are unknowns about future staffing and board membership.
“We don't know if this is going to help any of these kids,” he said, encouraging a no vote.
Parent Sara Sanchez told the board there were many reasons to unify the schools, and unknowns weren't a good enough reason not to do it.
The goal, she said, was to better the children and the schools. “I just hope that's where the decision is coming from.”
Another parent, Melanie Sneathen, also supported combining the two districts. “This unification would be so great for everybody here because it would make it a whole. It's sensible. It's a necessity.”
Upper Lake High School Principal/Superintendent Patrick Iaccino, who was in the audience with some of his board members, thanked the elementary district board. The two boards have met jointly over the last several months to discuss the unification.
“It's a tough decision,” Iaccino said, noting that they've spent a lot of time going through nine state-required criteria.
Michelle Villines, parent of a special education student, said she's watched numerous children leave the district, and asked the board to do what was right by the children.
She was concerned that special education wasn't receiving the attention it needs. “Special ed always seems to be on the bottom of the barrel here,” she said.
Originally, Villines said she opposed unification. Now, she said she is waiting to see what it might offer the special education program, which she said is not helping children or communicating with parents.
Valerie Duncan, who has taught in the Upper Lake Elementary District for 33 years and is a board member for the Upper Lake High district, said unification would open the door to articulate programs. Articulation and communication would be amazing to a K-12 program, she added.
Board President Mel O'Meara said the focus couldn't be just about cutting costs. The No. 1 concern, he said, was whether it was going to be better or students.
Board Member Don Meri, who acknowledged being on the board a long time, said this isn't the first time unification has come up, and he had concerns about what could happen.
Meri said there was nothing in the nine criteria that the two school boards reviewed that directly answered his concerns, so he went to the elementary school to talk to the teachers to get their feedback, which he said would inform his decision.
Upper Lake High School agriculture teacher Erica Boomer said there will be a lot of benefits from unification, from transportation to articulation between grades.
She called it a “no-brainer” and questioned why it hadn't happened years ago.
Upper Lake High School Athletic Director Sandy Coatney said that, from the athletic standpoint, unification will benefit students.
He said scheduling facilities will be easier, and coaches will now be able to move back and forth between schools, not having to undergo multiple rounds of fingerprinting and background checks, as they have to do now if they want to coach in both districts.
Board member Joanne Breton thanked parents for their involvement. Breton said that the unification isn't necessarily going to save money. “If unification takes place, it's going to be a slow process.”
However, she said she thought in the long run that it will strengthen special education and improve transportation, with the district now putting more money than ever into the former. She added that she was concerned that unification wasn't going to take place the way people think it will.
Frank Gudmundson, who has coached for 23 years in the local schools, emphasized a word he said he hadn't heard anybody else say: “consistency.”
“We need to come together as one. That's how we're going to get stronger,” he said.
Gudmundson continued, “This is one community. We need one unification, one district, to get things accomplished.”
He suggested more people will get involved if there is more consistency from kindergarten through 12th grade.
“Consistency, folks. That's all I ask for in this unification,” he said.
Responding to comments from the board, Sanchez said, “Progress is progress. Any amount of progress right now is awesome.”
Sitting next to Sanchez was Marie Henry, who also urged the board forward.
“Anything worth doing is not going to be easy. It never is,” said Henry, who has two children – one of them in the Upper Lake district, with the other going to another district.
Henry said she also was looking for consistency as a parent, coach and volunteer. By having all schools in one district, “You're sending a message to all your students,” she said.
O'Meara took a roll call when asking for the vote, with all five board members – Breton, Meri, Diane Plante, Ron Raetz and O'Meara himself – voting to approve the resolution to unify, which drew a round of applause.
Iaccino told Lake County News that the Upper Lake Union High School Board will meet to consider its resolution to unify Wednesday, June 10.
If the process continues moving forward, unification would occur in the 2016-17 school year, according to school officials.
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