Redondo Board Grilled on Plans to Unify Schools

Redondo Beach residents peppered school board members with questions at a hearing Tuesday night, asking how educational quality, local control and school assets would be affected by various proposals to merge the city’s schools with one or more other districts.

Parents at the Tuesday night hearing, perplexed by the complexities and pros and cons of unification, also asked members of the Redondo Beach school board to state their positions on the issue.

Three proposals are under discussion. One would combine three South Bay elementary districts and the South Bay Union High School District into a single system for kindergarten through 12th-grade students.

A second option would create a unified district embracing the Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach elementary schools and Redondo Union High School.

A third would create a kindergarten through 12th-grade system strictly within the borders of Redondo Beach.

“I’m really confused,” said Sammie Bird, a Redondo Beach parent with four children in local schools. “I’ve given you my input, and now I need some output from you.”

Three of the five trustees--Rebecca Sargent, Bart Swanson and Valerie Dombrowski--said they support unification along city boundary lines or with Hermosa Beach’s 715-student system. Howard Huizing said he is also leaning in that direction but wants to reserve judgment until the other possibilities are fully explored.

Trustee Sylvia Zellers said she sees more advantages in consolidating all four districts--city elementary schools in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach and the high school district.

Parents at the hearing at Washington School repeatedly asked the board to explain how unification would affect the education of their children.

“I want my kids to get the highest-quality education,” Linda Webb said. “Unless you can tell me how unification will affect that, I don’t know how I can decide (among the various proposals).”

Nothing Substantial

Board President Sargent said no firm conclusions can be offered, since there have been no studies on how other districts have fared after unification.

“I guess that just muddies (the issue) for you,” Sargent said, noting the expressions of some parents in the audience of about 60.

Swanson, who strongly supports unification within Redondo Beach, linked the issue of local control with preserving the city’s school assets. The 3,900-student district survived the trauma of declining enrollment and school closings in the last 15 years, he said, and has been busy rebuilding its programs and establishing a sound financial position.

Those accomplishments could be diluted if Redondo Beach merges with other districts in a weaker position, he said.

“I believe in local control,” Swanson said. “If one big (school) board is in control, we don’t know what they will do” with Redondo Beach’s schools and programs.

Equal Treatment

Zellers, the trustee who favors consolidation of all four districts, cautioned against a “them and us” view. “A new board would care equally about kids in all of the cities,” she said.

The consolidation, she said, would open possibilities that may be unavailable or difficult to achieve in smaller districts, such as magnet schools, interschool transfers and more teachers who are able to concentrate on their fields of expertise.

The transition from the elementary to the high school level also could be easier, since a single district could establish more uniform programs and standards, she said.

Noel Palm, president of the high school district board, sought to squelch a rumor brought up by several people in the audience. The 3,200-student district has no plans to close either of its comprehensive high schools, Redondo Union and Mira Costa, he said emphatically.

Eventual Growth

He acknowledged that his district will be going through some tough financial times in the next two years, but after that, enrollment is expected to level off and begin a slow climb, bringing more state aid based on attendance. Meanwhile, he said, the district’s schools are thriving on the academic front.

Members of the Redondo Beach board said they will continue to clarify and explain the different approaches to unification and to get a better sense of what the community wants. Sargent said the district may mail a pamphlet to parents and possibly take a survey of their views.

Hearings on the issue are also scheduled in Manhattan Beach on May 4 and in Hermosa Beach on May 26.

Unification requires a lengthy process. Petitions signed by at least 25% of a district’s registered voters must be reviewed at the county and state level. If approved there, the issue is submitted to voters in local elections.