Below is the text of a message we recently sent to the school board members. We hope the entire Davis community will join us in urging the school board to consider all options and all potential ramifications of the proposed closure of Emerson.
School Board Members,
We sent an email expressing concern about the possible closure of Emerson a week ago. Since that time, the likelihood of Emerson’s closure seems to have dramatically increased and, of even greater concern to us, it appears that this decision will potentially be made with virtually no study or public input. We feel that the following questions must be answered before a decision about any possible closures are made:
- Have additional students entering the district from new housing developments not requiring Measure J approval been taken into consideration? Groundbreaking for UCD’s West Village is set to take place THIS year according to the UC Davis web site. This development is anticipated to house 500 faculty/staff members and their families. The development includes a site for an elementary school, but secondary students will need to be absorbed into existing schools. Where will they go if our junior high and high schools are already at maximum enrollment? These students will all be living within a short bike ride of Emerson. What about the new development being planned for the previous Hunt/Wesson site? What are the additional costs the district will incur if a school which is closed down must be reopened after only a few years? Is it wise to use our school facilities funds to add temporary classrooms to one school site when they could be used to renovate another school site?
- How will moving DaVinci High School off site from DHS affect DaVinci enrollment? From personal communication with current DaVinci families, we believe many feel that having the school on the DHS site is an advantage in that it allows students easy access to the wider course offerings at DHS, and also continued close contact with friends at DHS. Have the families at DaVinci been made aware of the possibility that their school will be moved next year? What will the district do if fewer students than expected choose to attend DaVinci if it moves off site?
- Why is it a foregone conclusion that if the district budget can support only two junior high schools, Emerson should be the school to close? A map of Davis indicates that closing Emerson will leave two junior highs on the eastern side of town. Yes, Emerson needs to be modernized. But a bond has already been approved by the voters and money has been set aside by the district for the purpose of modernizing Emerson. Emerson parents have been promised modernization by the district for years. Shouldn’t all three of the junior high schools be considered for possible closure, taking into account not only district cost but also student impact, future growth and possible alternate uses of the sites? Might a more centrally located junior high, very close to DHS and already set up as a secondary school potentially provide a more attractive site for DaVinci and Sac City College?
- What are the district’s responsibilities to provide transportation and/or safe access to students from west Davis to Holmes if Emerson closes? What would the on-going costs of providing transportation be? What about the costs of traffic improvements that may be needed?
- What are the intangible costs and how should they factor in? These costs include the social disruptions to students and potential feelings of not belonging at a very vulnerable time in students’ lives, as well as serious quality of life issues for families who purchased homes within walking distance of a school and now must deal with finding a way to drive their children across town to get them to school. What about the potential damage done to the district by parents losing faith when it appears they have been asked to fund the construction of two new schools only to be told a few years later that neither were needed and older schools on their side of town must close?
We entreat you to please answer these questions and explore every possible option before making a final decision about something so far-reaching as the closure of a school and the potential reorganization of four other schools.
Sincerely,
John and Natalie Peauroi
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