RE: CAMP Summary Day 8: Governance

Thanks for all your hard work.  As you work on the Master Plan Draft I have
a few concerns about the governance section.  The main concern is that all
the work that the committee put in on the governance draft and in an instant
area of change appeared that was not in the committee draft ex.
rationalization of county offices of education and unification of small
schools.  As someone who has had experience in both large and small
districts I know that curriculum changes happen quickly in small schools.
Teachers and students wants and needs are met quicker also.  I also know
that most small one-school school districts are built around a small
community.  This community is fiercely loyal to their school district.  Some
small districts are so isolated that combining them would cause both
physical and financial problems.  There are times when it is in the
community's best interest to unify or combine districts.  That should be
their decision, not the state's.  The unified districts in Kings County
resent districts that unify under the K-12 masterplan becoming more
independent while already unified districts are left out of the mix.
I also have a concern about rationalization of COE's.  Some COE's are very
small but also remote.  Regionalizing Northern California would be a
nightmare.  You can't regionalize Southern California because each county is
extremely large.  That leaves only the Central Valley.  One thing COE's do
very well is to bring to the table many different county agencies for the
betterment of K-12 students and their families.  I believe that this will
somehow slip through the cracks or be extremely difficult with
rationalization.

Thanks again for all the hard work.  I will be at one of the regional
hearings with a better articulated message.

Tom Lasek
Kings County Superintendent of Schools