When Ocean View School District’s board meets today, it will hear recommendations from a task force created to help determine if some of its schools should close or be consolidated.
The task force was convened earlier this year to determine if four schools — Circle View, Village View and Golden View elementary schools as well as Spring View Middle School — should close due to declining enrollment in the district or if schools should otherwise be consolidated or repurposed.
Overall, the task force provided 19 options to the OVSD board, and they will be discussed during the board committee reports section of its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 24, according to Board President Patricia Singer.
The board won’t vote on any of the recommendations on Tuesday, Singer said, but a decision is expected next month.
At the final task force meeting on Oct. 12, OVSD Superintendent Michael Conroy presented data on the district’s financial prospects. The district, Conroy said, is overstaffed by at least 22 teachers because of the lower student enrollment, costing the district between $2.3-3.5 million.
The task force also unveiled the results of an anonymous survey that its members completed last month. In the survey, 22 respondents favored a plan to consolidate and repurpose schools, targeting one or two per designed year. However, 14 respondents said it would be better to consolidate schools all at once.
Specifics on a consolidation plan were not given during the meeting, but Conroy said it could involve all four of the targeted schools or be a mix of them. Other options included reducing each grade to only having three teachers or folding one of the four targeted schools with a different school within the district.
Only eight members said the schools should not be consolidated or repurposed.
The task force, convened by district officials in February, is made up of more than 40 members from around the OVSD community, including parents and teachers.
OVSD has grappled with the decision to consolidate, close or repurpose schools in recent months because of a dwindling student population and the effects that has had on the district.
OVSD — which serves parts of Huntington Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley — is home to more than 6,809 students across 15 schools. The district has had a drop of about 2,600 students since 2013, and it most recently closed Sun View Elementary in Huntington Beach in 2018 due to the lack of enrollment.
OVSD Board Vice President Gina Clayton-Tarvin attributed the decline in enrollment to an overall decline in the birth rate in California as well as the older population that occupies the district rather than the state of education.
“We have an aging community who we love and appreciate, but I know we need school-age children to keep this district going,” said Clayton-Tarvin. “We need younger families living in the area.”
She does not want to see schools closed or consolidated. “As a parent of the district and a faithful member of the board, this is not the direction I will vote on nor foresee happening,” Clayton-Tarvin said.
Neither of the other board members nor Conroy responded to requests for comment.
The OVSD board will meet today at 6 p.m. at 17200 Pinehurst Lane in Huntington Beach.
