The board approved a resolution that requests that the Lake County Office of Education form a task force that will explore if district consolidation would offer educational benefits and savings.
The resolution arose from a number of discussions before the board, beginning Jan. 6. Businessman and concerned citizen Lowell Grant asked the board to start the discussion.
The resolution originally was placed on the consent agenda, which includes numerous noncontroversial items accepted by one vote. But Grant said he asked it to be removed for further discussion because he was afraid it was going to be buried.
However, after looking at the resolution, based on a proposal by Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck, Grant said he was OK with it. “I actually think this is a reasonable plan.”
Dr. Bill MacDougall, superintendent of the Konocti Unified School District, said his district has developed two committees to look at its budget. At the district's Wednesday board meeting, the committees' findings will be presented.
MacDougall said he agreed with Geck's proposal to look at district consolidation more closely, but he was skeptical that it would be the answer to thinning resources.
“I think you will find it isn't going to save you a tremendous amount of money,” he said.
He suggested if the cities, county and school districts could join together in purchasing supplies and contracting for services they could recognize significant savings.
Just transportation for Konocti Unified alone costs $800,000 a year, said MacDougall.
But if the various government entities leveraged their purchasing power on everything from fuel to food to transportation to health services, MacDougall said they could realize true benefits.
“This is where we can streamline things countywide, citywide and schoolwide,” he said.
Konocti Unified School Board Trustee Carolynn Jarrett said she also supported Geck's plan, but she suggested there are many potential unintended consequences that could arise from making many districts into one.
She said Konocti Unified is in a period of declining enrollment, although it is up slightly this year. “We're in an incredible period of flux right now,” she said.
Jarrett also cautioned that changes to districts also would require a say on the part of teachers and classified employee unions.
As hard as the committee may work, “We don't know really what the future's going to bring,” she said.
Supervisor Jim Comstock, who served on the Middletown Unified School District Board for about 18 years, said he supported the resolution, but counseled that the consolidation issue needed to be approached with extreme caution.
Comstock said he believes it's imperative that a mother can meet a school board member at the grocery store and be able to speak to them about issues.
“The most control at the local level is the best government,” he said.
Tom Powers, president of the Lakeport Unified School District Board, said all districts are trying to save money, but he worried about the impacts of consolidation, saying that union negotiations are hard enough.
He also didn't think consolidation has had enough attention. “I don't think there has been enough communication out in the community on this.”
Geck said the feasibility task force will explore the issue with a view to eventually holding public hearings. That could lead to placing the matter on the ballot.
He said the resolution essentially begins a process mandated by the California Board of Education for consolidation. The process is estimated to cost $20,000 and “countless hours” of staff time, he said.
Supervisor Rob Brown moved to accept the resolution, which was accepted in a 5-0 board vote.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
{mos_sb_discuss:3}
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
