2 local school districts facing sanctions

SACRAMENTO— Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday recommended severe or moderate sanctions for nearly half the 97 California school districts that have persistently failed to make progress under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Those districts, responsible for educating nearly one-third of California’s public school students, face sanctions for the first time under the federal law because they have failed to meet achievement goals for four years.

Two Sonoma County districts — Sonoma Valley and Healdsburg — were targeted for moderate sanctions, and state officials said state officials would be sent to each district to review programs and then would report back to Sacramento.

Schwarzenegger has vowed to make California the first state in the nation to embrace the penalty aspect of the law. But he said state leaders had worked hard to make sure the penalties were in proportion to the problems in each district.

“It’s not a hostile takeover,” Schwarzenegger said at Northwood Elementary School in Sacramento, where he toured the campus. “We are going to work with the schools.”

If it had not intervened, the governor’s office said, the state would have risked losing up to $45 million in federal money to help turn the districts around.

The proposal Schwarzenegger reached with Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell calls for teams of experts to intervene and devise ways to boost student achievement.

Seven school districts face the harshest sanctions, which eventually could include replacing administrators or a takeover by the state.

They are: Greenfield Union Elementary in Monterey County; Arvin Union Elementary and Fairfax Elementary in Kern County; West Fresno Elementary in Fresno County; Ravenswood City Elementary in San Mateo County; Keppel Union Elementary in Los Angeles County; and Coachella Valley Unified in Riverside County.

Coachella, a district in far southeastern California with a high migrant population, faces the harshest sanctions. O’Connell wants the Riverside County Office of Education to become trustee of the district and will recommend that action to the state Board of Education.

Schwarzenegger favors using the same approach for each of the seven school districts, which begins with a performance assessment.

Coachella Valley Unified Superintendent Foch “Tut” Pensis said he was disappointed in the possibility that his district would be appointed a trustee.

He said his students, who are nearly all poor, have made some progress in recent years, even if they haven’t met the benchmarks of the federal law.

“I understood that we needed harsh sanctions, but putting a trustee here in a district that’s continued to make progress — I don’t think it’s needed,” he said.

On the list are 96 failing school districts and the Orange County Office of Education, which has responsibility for running some schools.

The failing districts have been split into four groups under the plan — those facing severe, moderate, light and other action. For many, that will mean teams of education experts that will assess the districts’ curriculum, testing, teacher quality and other issues.

They will then recommend action to the state Board of Education, which must approve Schwarzenegger’s plan before it can take effect.

Those deemed to need only light assistance will get technical help with problem areas, such as English-learner students or students with disabilities.