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of the Final Report of the 2009-2010 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury entitled Achieving School District Efficiency Through Consolidation. The District provides its response in accordance with Penal Code section 933.05. Should you have any questions related to this matter please do not hesitate to contact me at (408) 522-8200 ext. 202. SincerelY'L ~. Picard Ed. D. Superintendent ResponsetoGrandJury Findingsand Recommendations: Achieving School DistrictEfficiencyThroughConsolidation Page2of4 Findina 1 Education and financial benefits can be achieved by consolidation and unification ofcertain county school districts. Response: The District respectfully disagrees with the breadth and general intent of this finding. Consolidation and unification may provide opportunities for improvements to education and financial programs, but such improvements are not assured by reorganization and depend on the unique circumstances of the school districts involved. There are many examples in California of well-managed and efficient small and medium-sized school districts that use limited financial resources to provide their students extraordinary educational programs. There are also examples of large school districts that regularly encounter financial difficulties, frequently replace management teams, and struggle to provide their students adequate educational programs. Economies of scale may be achieved in larger school districts, but smaller school districts also have opportunities to implement efficient administrative and contracting practices. Smaller school districts can maintain close contact and oversight among governing boards, administrative teams, instructional leaders, all staff members, and community members. Smaller school districts can take advantage of contract prices secured by larger entities through the CMAS program and "piggybacking" practices. Smaller school districts are also able to use technology or partnerships with other nearby school districts and educational entities to provide students a wide array of educational opportunities. Administrators in smaller school districts can effectively perform multiple roles because they know the community, needs, and staff members of the district well. A small scale allows for efficient and effective communication among staff members. Administrators are often able to maintain their roles as instructional leaders in small school districts, keeping a focus on the primary objective of delivering quality educational opportunities to students and constantly striving to improve their performance. The Grand Jury acknowledges the great difficulty associated with unification and consolidation. The District does not believe that unification and consolidation produce education and financial benefits simply by the reorganization, and whether reorganization would produce such benefits depends on the circumstances of the particular school districts and communities that would be involved. School district size by itself does not result in educational and financial benefits. A thorough evaluation of multiple issues specific to the school districts to be involved in a potential unification or consolidation is necessary to determine potential benefits and potential losses that may result from the reorganization. The Grand Jury correctly acknowledges that, in accordance with the Education Code, consolidation and unification decisions rest with the affected communities and such decisions should be left to the discretion of those communities and their elected leaders to determine potential solutions that best address the challenge to provide high quality public educational programs in an era of diminishing financial resources.