Western Placer hosts public hearing over controversial new boundaries

Western Placer Unified School District held a public hearing at Lincoln High School on Tuesday evening to discuss the district's proposal for new school boundaries before a board vote tentatively set for Nov. 4. The discussion began in June regarding data about future enrollment and to offer suggestions, but no final decision has been made. Since June, rumors have spread with misinformation about what exactly the district's proposal looked like. In August, the school district went on tour to the elementary schools effected by the new potential boundary changes. District leaders gave presentations to community members about the district's proposal to address the high enrollment the school board will be voting on in November. On Tuesday evening, the school board was given an hour and a half presentation and discussion opportunity on the current proposal in front of a crowded LHS theater. Community members gave commentary afterward for 40 minutes. First Street closure proposal The district proposes that First Street Elementary should be closed and repurposed for middle-school use. First Street Elementary opened in 2000 as a temporary school. The school was made up of portable buildings to quickly address Lincoln's sudden growth 25 years ago. In the recommendation, the current First Street attendance boundary would be reassigned to Foskett Ranch and Creekside Oaks. The district said 13 classrooms from First Street would be improved/replaced for Glen Edwards Middle School. Another six classrooms would be improved and used at Creekside Oaks Elementary. In a slideshow titled "Timing for First Street Changes," the plan noted "incoming classes reduced each year beginning with TK/K no earlier than 2027-28. Could consider closing the school all at once in 2029-30. Portables would be converted to classrooms for Glen Edwards to accommodate students beginning in 2028-29." The school district stated there were other options considered before settling on the idea of closing First Street Elementary for its proposal. The first of two options was instead of expanding Glen Edwards Middle, the district could convert an existing elementary school into a TK-8 school. The estimated cost would be "upwards of $70 million and will require funding from a future GO Bond measure," according to the district slideshow. The second option would be changing middle school grades to 7-8 and having sixth grade at the elementary level. The school district said this would be a struggle for space at the elementary schools in the southern portion of the district. It was also stated with the projected future growth that it wouldn't be feasible at any elementary school. Lincoln Crossing new path proposal The current proposal has Lincoln Crossing Elementary students being reassigned to Glen Edwards Middle and Lincoln High starting with the current third-grade class. "This year's 3rd grade students would be the first class to shift their middle and high school assignments to GEMS and LHS (starting in the 2028-2029 school year). Will now alleviate capacity at Twelve Bridges High until 2031-32," a powerpoint titled "Timing for Lincoln Crossing Changes" stated. The current boundary path has Lincoln Crossing Elementary students attending Twelve Bridges Middle and High schools. The proposal has an expectation for siblings to be grandfathered into the current boundary if they have siblings attending Twelve Bridges Middle School. The district stated it plans for Lincoln Crossing students to have priority for an interdistrict transfer if this proposal were to be approved by the school board. The district said there are three options they considered before settling on suggesting the new boundaries for Lincoln Crossing. The first option was expansion of Twelve Bridges Middle and High schools through a potential bond measure. The next option was changing middle school grade configuration to 7-8 with sixth grade at the elementary school but again stated there isn't enough space. The last option was a multi-track year-round education but stated it is difficult to achieve at the middle and high school levels. Even more options In a slideshow titled "Attendance Pattern Alternatives," the school district explored three more suggestions of other options than the current proposal. The first idea was to not change the attendance boundary and overflow students from the Twelve Bridges and Lincoln Crossing Elementary area to Glen Edwards Middle then Lincoln High from Twelve Bridges Middle and Twelve Bridges High. The next idea was to overflow Lincoln Crossing Elementary only. The last idea was to re-assign the boundaries for Lincoln Crossing to Glen Edwards Middle and Lincoln High schools until a successful SFID Bond is approved by voters in the Twelve Bridges High attendance area or other funding is identified. This would be for the district to expand Twelve Bridges Middle and High. School board weighs in After the presentation of the current proposal, the board began discussing and asking questions about the reality of the district's proposal of new boundaries and closures to address the high enrollment coming their way. Board Member Jason Price brought up the topic of frustrated parents who bought specific houses so they could attend certain schools. "We don't have any control over what your real estate agent tells you, specific to where you're going to move and what schools you're going to go to," he stated. Price brought up Village One and how students will potentially have to take a 20-minute bus ride to elementary school regardless of the area's proximity to other schools. "In fact, our district has talked about parking a bus in front of those developments with a sign on the side that says your children will be going to Sheridan because we're trying to let you know that unless we can fund a school, we're not going to pretend like one will appear, and we don't have control over how that message gets delivered," he shared. Similar to the topic of frustrated parents who bought houses with a certain path in mind, the board discussed the topic of Lincoln Crossing Elementary area paying Mello Roos Community Facilities District (CFDs) cost that provides an alternative method of financing for certain facilities and services. The district's CFDs is paid by Lincoln Crossing, Foskett Ranch and Twelve Bridges residents. It was designed to pay for the construction of Lincoln Crossing Elementary, Foskett Ranch Elementary and Twelve Bridges Elementary. Twelve Bridges Middle was also partially funded by CFDs and by state funding and other district revenue. Twelve Bridges High and Scott M. Leaman Elementary were funded through a district-wide General Obligation Bond and state matching funds, not CFDs. By state law and school board policy, students living in areas that pay CFDs are given a priority enrollment at a school their CFD helped fund, but they are not given a guarantee. For Lincoln Crossing Elementary students, their CFD priority is getting access to Lincoln Crossing Elementary but not necessarily Twelve Bridges Middle School. Scott M. Leaman Elementary becomes the priority to Twelve Bridges Middle because their Mello Roos didn't pay for their elementary but it did pay for the middle school. Board Clerk Marjorie Proffitt said this proposal feels that the district is displacing the community. She shared that when she moved here, her youngest child was displaced from Lincoln Crossing because she couldn't camp out for three days to get a spot in kindergarten. She feels this is the same level of displacement for multiple communities. Public comment Throughout the presentation and discussion before the comment period, many community members began slowly clearing out of the room as the evening got late. At the beginning of the meeting, 21 people signed up to speak but at 9 p.m. when the board began to hear the community's concerns, only 16 were present. A group of First Street Elementary teachers spoke about their concerns on what this will do to their students, their livelihoods and their community they have built. "We were not given a chance to share our perspective or offer possible alternatives that might have kept our school open. The people who know our students best, the teachers, staff and families, had no voice in this issue," one First Street teacher stated. They voiced concerns for the fact that many of their students walk to school, which would no longer be an option if they were sent to Creekside and Foskett. They are also worried about what would it look like for their jobs if First Street closes. Superintendent Kerry Callahan said during the presentation discussion session with the board no one would lose their job and would be placed in a new site, however there is no outline for this in the district proposal so far. Multiple parents expressed concerns about the school district potentially bringing more students near the proposed medical respite center for homeless individuals at 1660 3rd Street. The district is currently in a legal fight with The Gathering Inn over concerns of the building's proximity to school campuses, increased potential for unsafe situations during school hours, lack of transparency and community outreach in the project's planning. "We don't need to be sending more kids to the schools where we're fighting against that. I think we should all work together to fight that," a parent said. Community members brought up a petition signed by 450 people that oppose the boundary changes. Some community members accused the school district of not following the The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982. "Nowhere in California Government Code 53312.7 does it state I am only allowed priority at only one CFD-funded school," a parent said, frustrated after explaining she bought her Lincoln Crossing home because of the school boundaries it provided for her children. The government code states that "the goals and policies adopted by any school district pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include, but not be limited to, a priority access policy that gives priority attendance access to students residing in a community facilities district whose residents have paid special taxes that have, in whole or in part, financed the construction of school district facilities. The degree of priority shall reflect the proportion of each school's financing provided through the community facilities district ..." The school board continued to discuss the topic for 20 minutes before officially closing the public hearing moments before 10 p.m., as a vote would be needed to continue the meeting. As they discussed the issues, Superintendent Callahan said there is no good solution. "Everything that was said tonight is absolutely true," she shared. "What's best for our kids is to have the finances that we need to do what would be best for our kids and our community. And none of this feels good. It doesn't."