I tried to search and apologize if this has been asked.

Why in the world does Petaluma have 5 school districts?

I cannot imagine any good reason for this and am interested in trying to make a better community... Where can I find more information about this? (This or any other website/source).

thank you!

I've wondered about this too. Back in Toronto (Canada), we only had a public and a Catholic school board... as well as a smaller French one, I think.

Perhaps it stems from many people having different visions for their education system...? I just found out not long ago that there's going to be a new Montessori charter school opening this fall.

I would also like to know also why Petaluma has so many school districts. I have wondered the same thing for awhile. The schools should be opening up on August 3, 2009 I am planning on asking the school my child will be attending. It would make sense to just have one school district. Growing up in the area I grew up in we only had 1 public school district with about 6 elementary schools and 1 middle school and 1 high school. I feel Petaluma school districts should be combined to better serve the students and the community plus save and be more efficient on standard operating procedures. I also think why Petaluma has so many school districts is because of the suburban sprawl that has occurred in this so called little town which is really a small city.

Some history:

Some districts were originally one-school districts in Petaluma's outlying areas.

Some were consolidated into Old Adobe Union (Bliss, Payran, Lakeville). Others were probably consolidated into Petaluma Unified.

We still have one-school districts around Petaluma (Lincoln, Two Rock, Cinnabar, Dunham, Wilson, Liberty, Waugh, and Union) some of which feed into Petaluma's secondary schools.

The city expanded into some districts (Old Adobe, Waugh).

As you can see, these districts were not established as Petaluma grew, they already existed.

Being mostly rural, they may not be willing to give up their uniqueness and consolidate with a larger district.

quote:

Originally posted by Petaluma Observer:
Some history:

Some districts were originally one-school districts in Petaluma's outlying areas.

Some were consolidated into Old Adobe Union (Bliss, Payran, Lakeville). Others were probably consolidated into Petaluma Unified.

We still have one-school districts around Petaluma (Lincoln, Two Rock, Cinnabar, Dunham, Wilson, Liberty, Waugh, and Union) some of which feed into Petaluma's secondary schools.

The city expanded into some districts (Old Adobe, Waugh).

As you can see, these districts were not established as Petaluma grew, they already existed.

Being mostly rural, they may not be willing to give up their uniqueness and consolidate with a larger district.

Good info. here. However, think about your last quote - "they may not be willing to give up their uniqueness and consolidate with a larger district".

I think about the superintendent's salary plus ALL staff salaries for each little one-school district. In these tough educational economic times, I believe it's time to think about consolidating the one-school districts into the larger district - Petaluma City Schools.

quote:

Originally posted by Tahoe:
However, think about your last quote - "they may not be willing to give up their uniqueness and consolidate with a larger district".

I don' know why you write that I should think about my last quote. I did think about it when I wrote it.

quote:

I think about the superintendent's salary plus ALL staff salaries for each little one-school district. In these tough educational economic times, I believe it's time to think about consolidating the one-school districts into the larger districts - PCS and OAUSD.

In some of these small districts the superintendent wears several hats, the staff is part-time, the 'board' isn't paid for meetings.

If you are suggesting that their structure and expenses are the same as larger districts (large salaries, several full-time staff), I think that you would be wrong.

Now, I could see Old Adobe Union and Petaluma Unified consolidating, since their goals and geographical area appear to be similar.

It seems like it would make sense for the Old Adobe and Waugh districts to merge. Old Adobe has 5 schools (Sonoma Mountain, Old Adobe, La Tercera, Bernard Eldredge, and one other- Miwok?). Waugh only has 2 schools (Meadow and Corona Creek) which are right next to Sonoma Mountain. It seems that these 7 east side elementary schools are geographically very close to each other, and all feed into Kenilworth and Casa Grande.

quote:

Originally posted by kemma:
It seems like it would make sense for the Old Adobe and Waugh districts to merge. Old Adobe has 5 schools (Sonoma Mountain, Old Adobe, La Tercera, Bernard Eldredge, and one other- Miwok?). Waugh only has 2 schools (Meadow and Corona Creek) which are right next to Sonoma Mountain. It seems that these 7 east side elementary schools are geographically very close to each other, and all feed into Kenilworth and Casa Grande.

And what about the 7 districts that have one school each on the west side of town? Shouldn't they merge together too as they also feed into Petaluma Junior High and Petaluma High School?

The enrollment numbers of the 7 one district schools -- Two Rock, Cinnabar, Dunham, Wilson, Liberty, Lincoln, Union - add up to the same enrollment numbers as one district - Waugh. Yet Waugh has one superintendent for 2 schools and has an enrollment of around 900!

quote:

Originally posted by Petaluma Observer:
In some of these small districts the superintendent wears several hats, the staff is part-time, the 'board' isn't paid for meetings.

The superintendent should wear several hats when they are the superintendent of ONE SMALL school. The teachers are not full-time? And what board members are paid for meetings?

quote:

Originally posted by Petaluma Observer:If you are suggesting that their structure and expenses are the same as larger districts (large salaries, several full-time staff), I think that you would be wrong.

I would hope that a one school district does not have the same expenses as the larger school districts in town. I'm not sure what your point is here.

quote:

Originally posted by Petaluma Observer:Now, I could see Old Adobe Union and Petaluma Unified consolidating, since their goals and geographical area appear to be similar.

And I can see all 7 one-school districts that you mentioned above merging into the Petaluma City Schools district. Makes sense to me.

quote:

Originally posted by dgyp:
I tried to search and apologize if this has been asked.

Why in the world does Petaluma have 5 school districts?

I cannot imagine any good reason for this and am interested in trying to make a better community... Where can I find more information about this? (This or any other website/source).

The simple answer is the same problem as passing a state budget. You need a SUPER-majority from BOTH school districts to merge.

If a small rural school like liberty can keep itself running on its small budget and everyone is happy, then why force them to merge with PCS. If it ain't broke don't fix it. If the parents nor the teachers nor staff want to merge, what business is it of anyone else's. The Superintendent is the Principal which is common in small districts. Bigger is usually not better, it usually means more bureaucracy...and the more people you manage the higher you paycheck and the less you know about the intricacies of the communities you work in. Some communities like to have say about what happens in their neighborhood schools. McDowell and Liberty school aren't really that similar, so maybe they should be allowed to run themselves differently.

Anything else you folks want to complain about?

quote:

Originally posted by gglgrl:

quote:

Originally posted by dgyp:
I tried to search and apologize if this has been asked.

Why in the world does Petaluma have 5 school districts?

I cannot imagine any good reason for this and am interested in trying to make a better community... Where can I find more information about this? (This or any other website/source).

The simple answer is the same problem as passing a state budget. You need a SUPER-majority from BOTH school districts to merge.