To Unify or Not to Unify?

Approval of the initiated resolution or petition for unification occurs when: A. A resolution is approved by the majority members of a city council, county board of supervisors, governing body of a special district, or a local agency formation commission. B. Within 120 days, following the first public hearing, the county committee on school district organization must grant or deny the resolution or petition. The county committee transmits the resolution or petition, report, and recommendation to the State Board of Education. C. The State Board of Education holds a public hearing and then approves or disapproves the resolution or petition. D. If approval is received, the county superintendent calls an election in the area determined by the State Board of Education.

A feasibility study must be done by a third party to ensure the following: A. The school districts affected by unifying must be financially viable after unification. B. Unification cannot result in racial or ethnic segregation. C. The state cannot be financially impacted by the unification by more than 10% of the existing school district’s budget. D. School districts seeking unification should have a minimum enrollment of 1500 students.

There can be substantial cost savings in: A. Administration B. Transportation C. Food Service D. Facility E. Custodial and maintenance

Salary schedules would incur significant cost increases because California law requires uniformcertificated employee salary schedules for years of training and years of experience. Normally, high school districts have higher pay schedules than elementary school districts. CONCLUSION: There is a procedure for unifying school districts that wish to be unified. Some school districts choose not to unify for specific reasons. The decisions to unify are made on a case-by-case basis. 40