LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Office of Education is presenting to local school districts the results of a new transportation study that shows potential savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually if districts share transportation services.
Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook has so far visited the Upper Lake High School and Kelseyville district boards, and has several more visits with districts planned this month to present the report's findings.
Holbrook said the study, completed by the firm School Services of California Inc., arose out of a discussion in 2009 centering on a proposed countywide consolidation of school districts.
He was a member of an advisory task force that in December 2009 presented a report on school district unification to the Board of Supervisors and the Lake County Board of Education (http://lakeconews.com/content/view/11662/919/).
While countywide unification itself wasn't ultimately pursued, the idea's exploration did lead to proposals to look at ways districts could work together to save money by sharing transportation and purchasing.
The report does find the opportunity for savings, and explores three main options.
The options include:
Option 1: Create a lead educational agency to manage regular and special education transportation services. The report suggests Kelseyville Unified be the lead agency, because of its large bus barn located at Gard Street School. Estimated total expenditures: $871,910; estimated ongoing annual savings: $793,895.
Option 2: Create two lead educational agencies, one for the north end of the county and one for the county's south end. Upper Lake High would be the north end lead agency, while Kelseyville would be the south end lead agency. Estimated total expenditures: $1,033,095; estimated ongoing annual savings: $632,710.
Option 3: Establish a joint powers agency – which is a separate legal and governmental entity – and one lead agency to manage all services. Kelseyville is again proposed to be the lead agency. Estimated total expenditures: $871,910; estimated ongoing annual savings: $793,895.
Depending on the option, about a third to half of the savings would come from consolidating jobs.
It's also estimated that sales of surplus buses at $5,000 each could result in a one-time expense reduction of $120,000 for each of the options.
Holbrook said a possible complication to the plans could be the proposed sale of Gard Street School to the county of Lake. County officials have not yet made a decision on purchasing the school, which has been proposed as a center for several county offices.
Beyond the three options, Holbrook said there are additional considerations.
The first is whether or not the estimated cost savings is sufficient to move forward with any of the options.
The next would be the need to achieve a countywide calendar.
Holbrook said there currently are wide disparities between the calendars of all the county's districts.
“We're all over the place,” he said, noting that Middletown Unified is now beginning its school year around the middle of August, while Kelseyville Unified usually starts after Labor Day and the Lake County Fair.
“There's some tradition there,” he added.
After a common calendar, the next consideration would be multi-tiered bus schedules, which Holbrook said would be necessary to ensure that the most students are on buses at any one time, making the most efficient use of buses and drivers.
If local school districts come to a decision on the options by January, the result of the school year could be spent working on transitioning to shared services. Holbrook said the preparations would have to include negotiations with affected employee groups.
Holbrook said it's possible that a new approach to transportation implemented by next school year at the earliest.
Holbrook will take a discussion of the study to local school districts on the following dates (times denote start of the meeting not necessarily the time of the discussion): Kelseyville Unified, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4; Konocti Unified, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5; Lucerne Elementary, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12; Middletown Unified, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12; Lakeport Unified, 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 13; and Upper Lake Elementary, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19.
With the completion of the transportation study, Holbrook said there is now a process in place to look at other areas to share services, like food services, maintenance and operations.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Lake COE Transportation Study - FINAL
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