LAKEPORT – A local businessman and former school board trustee went to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to ask that the county "get the ball rolling" and help lead a discussion about consolidating the county's seven school districts.
Lowell Grant took the item – which he called an "obvious issue” – to the board, where it was discussed for more than an hour in the afternoon session. Close to 40 people came to hear the matter.
Grant said that earlier that day Supervisor Rob Brown had called to tell him that the county may have ceded its power relating to school consolidations when it turned those duties over to the Lake County Office of Education in 1975.
That led to an important question throughout the discussion – can the county take back that responsibility or is it gone permanently?
Grant said he hoped the board would be "sufficiently motivated by the common sense” of conslidation, which he said was not an attempt to attack board members or school administrators.
"We just have way too many districts in a tiny little community like Lake County," said Grant, who was elected to three terms on the Upper Lake Elementary School District Board.
He asserted that the state put more emphasis – and offered better pay – to prison guards in comparison to school teachers. Prison guards make more than $120,000 annually, about three times more than those who work in classrooms educating children.
"I wish our teachers were as well paid as our prison guards – and that's a disgusting comment to have to make," he said.
Grant said the county's seven districts each have two employee contracts to negotiate at a time. The negotiations never seem to end, and require significant staff and faculty time. There also are close to 40 school board trustees, many getting paid a few hundred dollars a month and drawing expensive health care benefits.
The basic point of Grant's argument was that "the pie is shrinking," and communities now have to decide how they want to divvy up that pie.
As to the question of whether the county could take back the power it ceded to the Lake County Office of Education, County Counsel Anita Grant said she hadn't yet looked at that issue.
However, she cautioned it would lead to a much greater obligation for the county than simply rescinding the resolutions. She said she could review the legal documents and bring the board an answer at its Jan. 13 meeting.
Lake County Office of Education Superintendent Dave Geck, who sat alongside Grant during the discussion, commended Lowell Grant for caring about the issue.
Geck said that on Thursday the local school districts, along with representatives from the county and the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, plan to meet to look at ways to save money and work together.
He told Lake County News on Wednesday that Thursday's meeting wasn't open to the public, but was a brainstorming session to discuss ways the districts could be more cost effective as agencies by implementing countywide strategies such as transportation services, pooled purchasing and shared staffing.
Geck said that meeting is and attempt to “think out of the box.”
At the board meeting Tuesday he cautioned that unification won't automatically generate the savings communities need, however.
Expecting challenging times ahead, Geck said there's a suggestion to form a committee to look closer at the question. He has spoken to his predecessor, Bill Cornelison, who he said is willing to facilitate that group.
Supervisor Jeff Smith said when he first saw the agenda he wondered why the matter was coming before the board, and suggested that he would have called school districts and their trustees first.
Grant said he did it very publicly in the hope that it would be a very transparent discussion.
Brown said he didn't know if it was the right thing for the board to attempt to dictate consolidation to school boards. He agreed that, in some instances, consolidating some smaller school districts may be appropriate.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington said he hoped the discussion would be a stepping stone for a series of dialogs with community members and other local officials. He urged keeping an open mind – "but not so open our brains fall out."
Board Chair Denise Rushing said she wanted to see the dialog opened but didn't know if it made sense for the board to host it. She added that she wanted to take a "serious, close look" at consolidation based on good information.
"It's all I can hope for, is to get the ball rolling," said Grant.
Grant said the issue is basic – students need teachers. The county lost 21 teachers this last year, based on information provided by Geck, with another 20 to 30 in danger this year.
Don Ellis, a former supervisor who was board chair when the 1975 resolution was approved, talked about how the board and other officials had met for a year to hash out the issue. At the time there were four districts in what is now Konocti Unified.
Ellis warned that in consolidated districts upper level management can get to be a giant. "We've got a bull by the tail and it needs to be studied long and hard before we do anything on it."
Newly seated District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock, whose resignation from the Middletown Unified School District Board of Trustees became official on Monday after 18 years of service, said the topic is near and dear to his heart. He said Middletown already is discussing consolidation.
John Tompkins, a longtime Upper Lake High School District Board member, said he wasn't representing the board in his comments.
"I think this is the wrong forum for this discussion," he said. "Consolidation and the process of determining whether that is a good idea or not is a logical thing that should go to the county board (of education). That's their job."
Tompkins said in 1993 and 1994 his district looked at consolidating with its feeder schools, such as Lucerne and Upper Lake elementary schools. They studied the benefits and problems, and found it would save little money but would help with organization and better faculty articulation, which would be better for students.
"I feel that looking at this is very logical," Tompkins said.
Rushing wanted board members' opinions about whether they should take up the item.
"My opinion is no," said Brown. "As a Board of Supervisors I don't think it's within our role to do this."
Grant said he was concerned that the way government kills things is to start a committee. "That's the perfect way to make sure it will never happen."
He said the community was at a tipping point. "There may be a way for you as a group to save education for the children of Lake County,” Grant told the board.
Grant said the county's tax base is directly related to quality of education; when people look to buy homes they look at local schools' performance.
"I agree that the community has to decide this," said Rushing. "I'm not sure how to get there from here."
She said she believes there is a leadership role for the board to take.
Geck said they should find out where the process needs to start, with it eventually leading to public hearings to give the community a chance to give input. They also need experts to explore the programmatic and funding impacts.
Finley resident Phil Murphy asked if there was an intention to put it on the ballot, which was his understanding. Geck said voters would need to make the final decision.
Murphy said there is a wide range of school performance levels in the county, and wondered what impact creating one large district would have on the schools' individuals achievements. He said Konocti Unified is very large and has a lot of problems. "I would want to keep districts like that under the control of people who have the most experience with them."
He said he was for consolidation "to a point," such as with the different Upper Lake school districts.
"Going into one big massive district I'm not sure is the answer here," he said.
Murphy added that rising health care costs are a core issue when it comes to understanding struggling school districts.
Grant said having "one giant school district" with about 9,000 students didn't seem huge to him compared to other areas. Geck, however, said it would be one of the largest districts in single-district structure areas, though not as big as San Francisco.
Kelseyville resident Randy Ridgel said if the matter is going to go to the public, "we need to know a lot more than we know," and he would want to see an independent audit of some sort.
Rushing asked county staff to return next week with more information on the jurisdictional issue only. Replied County Counsel Anita Grant, "the issue of rescinding a resolution is not the difficult question."
Brown said he's been critical of the Lake County Office of Education, but he respects a lot of what they do and has faith in their ability to take the lead on the consolidation investigation.
Geck said the five-member board includes one person representing each of the five supervisorial district. Members include Dr. Mark Cooper, Dr. David Browning, Patricia Hicks, Madelene Lyon and George Ryder.
Comstock said the county board of education should take up the matter and then the community can accept or reject its conclusions. Smith added that he trusts Dr. Mark Cooper, who is the District 2 representative on the county board of education. To make the right decision.
Brown also suggested Geck take the lead, saying he's most comfortable with having the office of education handle it. The suggestion was made for joint meetings with the county board of education and supervisors.
Rushing said she wanted regular updates on the issue's progress. In addition, Comstock said they needed a timeline, which Geck said he could provide next week.
The consolidation discussion is scheduled to continue at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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