Exercise every option before closing any school

The challenge facing CVUSD and its school board today:

•Close two schools and save $1.3 million, 1 percent of the budget.

•Devastate 700 students plus 1,000 parents.

•Close central T.O. schools that kept their enrollment at capacity and don't consider for improvement some schools in Westlake or Newbury Park that are losing lower-grade enrollment at 100 percent or 50 percent.

•Support a criteria scoring system that gave F scores to schools at capacity from 80-90 percent full of neighborhood kids who rarely choice out and reward A+ scores to schools at 60 percent enrollment, where 177 to 100 neighborhood children choice out, and now those schools luckily have room for "transferred" students--see the district's website.

•Erroneously communicate that University is the smallest school in the district, while three others are smaller.

Or

•Cut 1 percent of budget from administration, the workbook budget--just change one workbook to one textbook for big savings--reduce one minor program from all schools and ask parents to help in all ways.

•Reward Blue Ribbon, central T.O. schools for keeping their classrooms full of neighborhood kids while helping the environment.

•Give parents, City Council members--get involved now--business and community partners time and opportunities to be creative with sponsorships, fundraising and marketing.

How about a "Save Our District" bracelet that we can all sell and wear? Our kids are worth fighting for. There are so many more ideas.

•Pause and delay the process and change the attitude to "can" from "no" and "cannot."

•Bring the community together and stop pitting schools against each other

The later choices are priceless.
Julie Svitenko
Thousand Oaks