By DONNA JONES - Santa Cruz Sentinel
8/02/2010 06:57:30 PM PDT : WATSONVILLE - What do Pajaro Valley and Los Angeles school districts have in common?
Neither was set to get federal money to improve low achieving schools when the California Board of Education met Monday.
But thanks to the political clout of the Southern California city, Pajaro Valley may get a second chance at $6.6 million to implement reform plans at MacQuiddy, Hall District and Calabasas elementary schools.
"Sometimes good processes can lead to absurd conclusions," said state board member Benjamin Austin, joining a majority in delaying approval of a list of districts recommended for school improvement grants.
To have the state's largest school district, a centerpiece in its reform plan to meet federal requirements for qualifying for federal Race to the Top funding, not get any of money targeted for the most academically needy schools didn't make sense, board members said.
The federal government is giving California $415 million to improve schools ranked in the bottom 5 percent of student achievement, "the persistently lowest achieving." The state tagged the three Pajaro Valley elementary schools, as well as E.A. Hall Middle School and Watsonville High School, with the label, making them eligible to compete for a share of the federal funds.
But competition criteria gave funding preference to districts that applied for all eligible schools. Since Pajaro Valley didn't seek money for E.A. Hall or Watsonville High, it didn't make the cut, even though its application scored better than 19 of the 30 recommended districts.
L.A. Unified found itself in the same spot, though its application scored slightly less well than Pajaro Valley's.
Los Angeles officials protested at Thursday's meeting, arguing that there wasn't enough time to come up with strong reform plans for all of its 31 schools on the list, and at some, change already had been implemented and starting over with a new strategy wasn't appropriate. Officials said they were being penalized for being a large district doing the right thing.
"This was in the public's interest and was a responsible use of taxpayer dollars," said Joan Sullivan, Los Angeles deputy mayor for education.
Pajaro Valley Superintendent Dorma Baker wasn't at the meeting, but she agreed with L.A.'s position.
After the district schools were named low achievers in March, Baker said they worked to develop plans for the elementary schools under a tight time line and constantly changing criteria.
Baker said Watsonville wasn't included because its reforms were under way, and more time was needed to involve the community in planning for changes at E.A. Hall.
"We didn't want a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants plan just to get money," Baker said.
Whether the state board's delay in making a decision will affect the outcome is unclear. State education department staff said no change was possible due to an agreement with the federal government.
But the board directed staff to review criteria and consult with federal officials to see if adjustments could be made.
Time is short. The grants were supposed to be awarded before the first day of school, which for many state districts comes in a week or two.
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