Its Official: Santa Fe School To Close

Oakland Schools Failure Ripple Effect:

Anna Yates Elementary School 
To Face Crush Of Parents

Oakland's Santa Fe Elementary School, on the Emeryville border, has been axed.  Emery's Anna Yates is sure to be impacted with a surge of inter-district transfers as parents scramble to seek alternatives for their children.
Re-posted from the Oakland Tribune

The verdict is in: Five Oakland elementary  schools will close  By Katy Murphy   Oakland Tribune Posted: 10/27/2011 12:14:46 AM PDT Updated: 10/27/2011 03:21:02 PM PDT Most of the people who had packed the Oakland Technical High School auditorium for the marathon session were long gone by the time the school board made its decision, but a few dozen people remained to hear the verdict. "I can't say that I'm surprised, but I did hold out a little bit of hope,"  said Pam Chinn-Scoffern, who teaches at Lakeview, one of the five schools slated for closure. The district administration has estimated the closures of Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe elementary schools will result in a savings of roughly $2 million a year, or an additional $50 for each student in Oakland Unified. The restructuring plan also includes mergers that are already underway: the small high schools on the Fremont and Castlemont campuses in East Oakland; the conversion of Far West High School in North Oakland into an academy of nearby Oakland Technical High; and the merger of Barack Obama Academy, an alternative middle school in East Oakland, with Community Day School. Superintendent Tony Smith told the crowd that the district simply can't fund or manage the number of schools as it operates -- nearly 100 for 38,000 students. In addition to a declining number of students and reductions in state education funding, he said, the district must repay the state $6 million each year for the $100 million bailout loans extended during the school district's 2003 financial meltdown and state takeover. "Having too many underfunded schools is not a good strategy," Smith said. But many urged the board to reject the plan, arguing that the closure of historic neighborhood schools and the displacement of 1,000 students and staff members was not worth $2 million. Some questioned if the district would even save that much, especially if it uses general fund dollars to help pay for the students' transportation to their new schools. Erica Persons, 8, was asleep just after 11 p.m. when the board made the decision, with board members Alice Spearman and Noel Gallo casting the dissenting votes. She and her friend Donaven Kelley, 9, who attend Marshall Elementary School, said they were saddened by the news. "It's just hard to go away from a school you've been raised in, really," Erica said. Read Katy Murphy's Oakland schools blog atwww.IBAbuzz.com/education. Follow her at Twitter.com/katymurphy.