Merger of School Districts in Placentia, Yorba Linda

It has been my pleasure to serve as a trustee for the Yorba Linda School District for the past year. During that time I have become keenly aware of the financial condition of our district. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, money means better education. It’s a fact of life!

As a district, we have several sources of income. The lion’s share is from state funding. All of this money is pumped into our general fund, and it is spent as fast as it comes in. In spite of this, we still spend from $200,000 to $300,000 more a year than we take in. We have a nest egg of $2.9 million (from the sale of property), but it doesn’t take a great mathematician to see that in a few years we will have no reserve at all.

In order to survive over the years we have had to cut back on many programs and services. We have even closed a school and sold our own property. We are a “bare-bones” school district. Our children deserve more than this.

Merging with Placentia school district is the thing to do. It makes good sense. Nobody loses and everybody wins, especially the kids.

Placentia is a great district. It has a strong financial base. It has good programs and services for kids. It has excellent teachers and administrators, just like Yorba Linda. It stands ready and willing to share its resources with us.

Look around. We are neighbors. Our kids play ball together, go to church together. Seventy percent of Yorba Linda is already in the Placentia district.

None of this will come without sacrifice. We must give in order to receive. Sure, we will lose our compact little school district, but if we stay the way we are, the alternative is grim. As I see it we have only two choices: sit and watch ourselves shrink and go bankrupt, or move forward and watch ourselves grow and expand. The choice is in our hands now.

Let’s unite for kids.

QUENTIN P. GOODMAN

Trustee,

Yorba Linda School District