• Buena Vista • Indian Valley • Murwood • • Parkmead/PALS • Walnut Heights • • Walnut Creek Intermediate •
News Articles and Letters to the Editor Read what the local media are publishing about Measure C and what our community members are saying in Letters to the Editor News Articles What the local media are publishing... Posted on Thu, Aug. 22, 2002 Walnut Creek District Prepares for New School Year By Theresa Harrington STAFF WRITER WALNUT CREEK - Students in the Walnut Creek School District may be diverted to schools outside their neighborhoods if enrollment swells beyond capacities at some sites, Superintendent Michael De Sa at warned Monday's school board meeting. "We are anxiously awaiting confirmation of our enrollment numbers," he said. "We are anticipating that we might have some families displaced, and they might have to go to a school other than their neighborhood schools. "We will try to avoid that. When that happens, parents get upset. With all the home sales going on, we don't know who's going to walk in the door." The district has planned for 1 percent enrollment growth each year, and has added modular classrooms at several school sites to accommodate new students, De Sa said. One surplus classroom is available at Walnut Heights Elementary, which is centrally located, he added. "We always try to preserve the neighborhood school concept," he said, noting that district residents will be given priority placement over children whose parents work within district boundaries and qualify to enroll through the Allen Bill. "This is where the state's class size reduction has really hurt schools, because you have to have 20 kids (per classroom) or you lose funding," he said, noting that the average size of kindergarten through third-grade classes in the district is 19.6 students. De Sa also reported that modernization projects at Murwood and Indian Valley elementary schools -- including new lighting, plumbing, carpeting, windows, linoleum, ceilings and paint -- is expected to be completed by the first day of school. Kathleen Scott was hired as principal at Parkmead Elementary, and the district hired about 14 new teachers. The district hired far fewer new teachers this year than it has in the past, partially because many teachers who retired in the last seven years have been replaced by younger employees, De Sa said. Also at the meeting, board president Arthur Clarke noted that the district will have another uncontested election in November. Three candidates are running for three open seats. Incumbents Sara Newell and Dan Walden have filed for re-election, and newcomer Barbara Pennington, who is president of the Walnut Creek Education Foundation, is running. Trustee Jeannie Langon, who served on the board for nine years, will not run again. [Top] Letters to the Editor What our community members are saying... Put Children First In the Aug. 8th issue of the Walnut Creek Journal, the Stanford 9 test scores were published for many of the schools in the area. I am pleased to see the continued improvement in the Walnut Creek School District. Smaller class size, improved facilities, dedicated parents, and a supportive community have contributed to this success. The Walnut Creek School District has made great strides in improving its schools’ programs and facilities. Only six years ago many of the schools had blue tarps on the roofs to protect the classrooms from rain. Now all five elementary schools and the middle school have received a renovation to the entire basic physical infrastructure such as roofs, electrical, plumbing, windows, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning. Systems that had not been upgraded since the schools were built, as much as 50 years ago, systems that will last another 50 years. All this was funded by a bond measure approved by the voters of Walnut Creek in 1995. While schools are, for the most part up-to-date, there is more work that needs to be done in the area of safety and security. In addition, the middle school is in need of a bigger library to accommodate the large number of students attending WCI. On Nov. 5, the voters of Walnut Creek will have an opportunity to approve an extension of the 1995 bond that will not increase current tax rates to fund the remaining work that needs to be accomplished at the school sites. I hope the voters of Walnut Creek will continue to put the children of our community first. Angela Borchardt Walnut Creek [Top] Published 9/23/02 Contra Costa Times and 09/26/02 Walnut Creek Journal I have been a parent volunteer in the Walnut Creek Intermediate School library for the last two years and I am concerned about the condition of the facility. There are nearly 1,200 students at the school and the library is housed in a 1,760 square foot classroom, smaller than each of the elementary school libraries in the district. Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning says the 1998 national standards for a middle school with a population of 800 should be 4,202 square feet of library space. It’s nearly impossible for the collections and technology to grow under the current conditions. A constant effort is put forth to rid the library of older books as the new editions arrive; our average copyright date is 1982. Current titles housed in the WCI library number just over 11,000. The national standard is 25 books per student; we are at less than 10! Our community should be able to provide a modern, resource-rich library to complement our children’s education. Please vote yes on Measure C in the Nov.5 election. It won’t raise taxes (it only extends an existing bond) and specified funds raised will help to build a new library for our children and their siblings. Signed, Janis Glaser Walnut Creek [Top]