I am so pleased for the Wiseburn School District.
They finally persuaded the (cash-strapped?) Centinela Valley Union High School District to stop stalling and let the elementary district break away and unify into its own high school district.
The families of Hollyglen, Wiseburn, and Del Aire have waited a long time for this day. I am sure that El Segundo Councilman and former Wiseburn superintendent Don Brann is also thrilled. I am happy for them, too.
Choice and commitment are winning over bureaucracy and status quo dysfunction. There is no reason why students should suffer in substandard school districts because of arbitrary boundaries drawn up years ago by the state legislature. Centinela Valley is not entitled to poach students into enrolling in a school district that routinely underperforms and overburdens otherwise with over-attention to test scores while consistently failing to offer a stable and secure learning environment. The competition which has ensued because of charter schools and declining enrollment have proved to be good for the troubled high school district, which has been forced to renovate old buildings an innovate security and well-being for students who have suffered for too long in a district that had gotten away with too much.
Now that the Centinela Valley School Board has decided to enter into negotiations, the Wiseburn community must collaborate with the other elementary school districts — Hawthorne, Lawndale, and Lennox — who fear rising taxes and costs for the remaining students who will still enroll in the high school district.
I wish Wiseburn officials the best in their ongoing, yet winning, struggle to define and determine the superior education for their youth. I also hope that their continuing discussions with the other three elementary districts will spur them to consider also breaking away from Centinela Valley. If the demise of the high school bureaucracy is necessary in order to ensure greater flexibility, accountability, and creativity for future students in the South Bay, then so be it. Every student, every family deserves the option of choosing where they may enroll and learn. More choice, less waste, and much less drama is in store for everyone with the surprising yet welcome trend for Wiseburn.