Save Hogan High School from school closure

SAVE HOGAN HIGH SCHOOL FROM CLOSURE

We Deserve a Better Plan


We, the parents, teachers, students and concerned members of Hogan High School community, oppose the School Consolidation and Surplus Property recommendation put forth by the State Administrator Richard Damelio, which would close Hogan High School and discontinue (or dramatically alter) as many as 14 programs, directly impacting over 4,000 children citywide and negatively affecting many more through class-size increases and other unintended consequences.

The recommendation is rushed and ill-conceived. It lacks clear explanations of its choices and hard data to justify them. In many places, it contradicts the district's goals, guiding principles, and codified policies. It will further erode trust in our schools and drive even more of our families out of the district or to private schools. The proposal also lacks critical information from the district's functional capacity analysis (which will not be released until after the proposed closure), and the new school assignment plan (which has yet to be released).

We acknowledge that the district is facing budget challenges. We also affirm that it is the right and responsibility of the administrator to be a good steward of our public funds, and to manage capacity in our schools. However, this proposal is fundamentally flawed.

Therefore, we urge the school board to vote NO to a proposal that:

Was drafted without the necessary data to make informed decisions and will not achieve stated objectives.

Is not a budget solution. It fails to demonstrate how it will realize an estimated savings of only $1,250,000 (to offset an estimated $27 million budget shortfall).

Does not account for expenditures associated with closures or program duplications/changes. In 2007, following the closure of Vallejo elementary schools, the per-student moving cost was estimated at $2,700-3,700.

Fails to account for potential revenue losses from declines in enrollment. The 2007 closures triggered an enrollment decline among affected students; using 2007-08 per-student funding estimates of $5,000, revenue loss may total upwards of $40 million.

Requires additional investments, such as "design teams, that are neither detailed nor funded.

Does not include the States Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) assessment of the Districts progress in five different areasCommunity Relations and Governance, Curriculum and Instruction (Pupil Achievement), Financial Management, Personnel Management, and Facilities Management.

We demand a better plan in which school closures are strictly a last resort, and instead urge the district to take the following steps:

Tap the districts State loan (estimated at $60 million approved legislation by State Legislature and Governor)

Demand compliance with the Basic Education Act of 1977 which mandates state funding of K-12 education. Current funding levels have declined since the acts passage.

Look to curb or cut expenses elsewhere, including in the district office, which has seen the highest percent increase in spending of any area in the school district.

Vallejo's children deserve a better deal.
Sincerely,