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Horsethief Canyon residents want to leave Lake Elsinore schools
By: JOSE CARVAJAL - Staff Writer | ∞
LAKE ELSINORE ---- Unhappy with a proposal that would see their children taken out of Terra Cotta Middle School and sent to a lower-performing school 10 miles farther away, parents in a neighborhood north of the city want to jump ship and join another school district to the north.
Horsethief Canyon resident Dawn Swett said Monday that she is forming a committee to lead the 2,000-home community in an effort to secede from the district and join the Corona-Norco Unified School District, whose attendance boundaries begins just to the north of the neighborhood.
Though it's not the only reason, Swett said, a proposed boundary change that would send Horsethief Canyon students from Terra Cotta Middle School to Elsinore Middle School has residents thinking it's time to make the change.
"This has stirred a lot of emotions," she said.
In an effort to send a message to the Lake Elsinore Unified school board, which is scheduled to take up the middle school boundary issue Thursday, Swett is urging Horsethief Canyon parents to participate in a sickout by keeping their kids out of school that day.
The school district receives state funding based on attendance and stands to lose thousands of dollars if there is widespread participation. The goal, Swett said, is to show that Horsethief Canyon residents are committed to making sure that the needs of their children are being met.
"We're going to make a statement that we care about the quality of education of our children here," she said. "They don't care about our kids."
Swett said she printed 2,000 fliers over the weekend and distributed them throughout Horsethief Canyon urging parents to keep their kids out of school on Thursday. She has already heard from many in the community that they plan to participate, she said.
Trustee Jon Gray, who lives in Horsethief Canyon, said Monday that the sickout is a bad idea. Parents need to wait and see what the school board decides before taking any action, he said.
"That would be the stupidest thing anybody could do, because the only people that are going to be negatively hurt are the kids," he said. "People need to wait and see what the board does on Thursday before they run off and try to make great change."
Trustee Sonja Wilson also said she thinks the sickout is not a good idea.
"I think it is a little immature," she said. "I don't think it's necessary. They should come to the board meeting and talk to us. Why keep your kids out of education?"
The controversial boundary proposal ---- Scenario 13, as it is called ---- is one of three Lake Elsinore Unified trustees are expected to consider Thursday as they realign attendance borders in anticipation of the new Lakeland Village Middle School opening in August. The two other proposals would not change where students from Horsethief Canyon would go.
Parents in the area have voiced their opposition to Scenario 13 in recent weeks because, they say, they do not want to send their children to a school that is 10 miles further from their homes and has not performed well on federally mandated tests the last three years.
Even if trustees don't adopt Scenario 13, Swett said, Horsethief Canyon needs to switch districts.
For one thing, she said, as development spreads south, new Corono-Norco schools are being built near Horsethief Canyon. For another, she added, students in that district as a whole perform better on the federally mandated tests.
Swett said she has already contacted the Riverside County Office of Education to get information about the process to have school districts reorganized. The first step, she said, is getting a petition signed by 25 percent of the registered voters in Horsethief Canyon.
According to Vic Giardinelli, a Menifee Union School District trustee and a member of the county's Committee on School District Organization, there are several steps in the process beyond the petition drive.
The committee must receive a request for reorganization, Giardinelli said. From there, it will hold public hearings and ultimately make a recommendation to the State Board of Education.
If that board approves the request, then an election is held and a majority of voters in both districts have to vote in favor of the reorganization, Giardinelli said.
Contact staff writer Jose Carvajal at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or jcarvajal@californian.com. To comment on this article, visit our Web site at www.californian.com.
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Gary wrote on Jan 17, 2006 12:11 AM:Gee, I wonder why the Lake Elsinore Schools are so low performing? Maybe its because so many of the students do not speak English.
Maria wrote on Jan 17, 2006 6:45 AM:If the resident's area school/s are performing low on State scores, why don't the residents look into the NCLB (No Child Left Behind)law? Lake Elsinore would then have to transport to a higher performing school.
marlene wrote on Jan 17, 2006 7:42 AM:My children have been attending Lake Elsinore Schools for years and I've always gotten the impression that the teachers just don't care and they have too many students in each classroom. When you try to work with the Schools too, it's like pulling your teeth out!
April wrote on Jan 17, 2006 11:09 AM:The district made a mistake and is now trying to cover it up with our children. SHAME ON YOU!!!! My son WILL NOT be in school Thursday. We are teaching him to stand up for what he believes in...
Marie wrote on Jan 17, 2006 12:38 PM:"Gee, I wonder why the Lake Elsinore Schools are so low performing? Maybe its because so many of the students do not speak English." Hey Gary are you racists? Comments like these don't help out kids.
Gary wrote on Jan 17, 2006 2:20 PM:No I am not racist ! but I AM ANTI-ILLEGAL ALIEN ! There is a difference, and for what it is worth my wife is Hispanic, my children are half and half, and my children attend private schools as I believe the public schools have failed the U.S. Citizens.
Ed wrote on Jan 17, 2006 6:28 PM:Parents in Horsethief Canyon concerned with the proposed shift of their school children to a lower-performing school may wish to consider that the school board sees this maneuver as a way to raise the performance of this school in order to meet federal standards. Thus, the school children become political footballs. The school board certainly must have sufficient information in its hands to identify the various shortcomings of the lower-performing school. Parents may wish to request the school board to describe and to address these known shortcomings. Otherwise, the school board will no doubt look for a quick-fix. In consequence, the school children would likely experience a detriment from (1) their having to travel significantly farther to attend school, and (2) their going to a lower-quality school. Parents must insist that the school board avoid this potential detriment to school children.
MSN wrote on Jan 17, 2006 6:37 PM:Without the spanish speaking kids in our schools, our classes would not be so full, our teachers would not be so overworked, and our test scores would not be so low. Look at the schools in areas where the non english speakers are a non factor, their test scores are much higher, even excelling. It is unfair to blame a district, a school, or the board because California has refused to do something about illegal aliens. Unlike other districts in the area, Lake Elsinore is a great district, a district where the kids come first!! Every district has its problems, and of all the districts inthe valley, Ill take Lake Elsinore over any of them!!
Joey wrote on Jan 17, 2006 10:42 PM:Sorry forgot to put my name of my rather wordy "comment".
AL wrote on Jan 18, 2006 8:42 AM:It is not a healthy approach to blame the perfomance of schools on the culture, legality, or socio-economic level of the children. It's also not a healthy approach to maintain a segragationist attitute and have this ugly legacy passed on to our children. It's always easier to point fingers or to run away (to another district perhaps) rather than believe that our children should mix. I think we've forgotten "One Nation, under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."
Cindy wrote on Jan 18, 2006 11:56 AM:One item that has not been addressed is the poor rating LEUSD received last year in Staff Development. My personal research has shown that poor performing schools have made great improvements by focusing on staff development. I don't see this being addressed and will bring it up at the meeting. In addition, EMS does not have the band program, or the performing arts designation that TCMS has. Moreover, what IS EMS offering our kids that they don't get at TCMS? Nothing worth being bussed so far for!
Gary wrote on Jan 18, 2006 2:45 PM:Healthy or not, What is the English Speaking Ratio at this school compared to Non-English Speaking. I have put my children in private schools as I do not want them held back. Non-English speaking students in America are high maintenance, and use considerably more resources then U.S. Born Citizens. Immigrant familes legal or not have never paid into the system as natural born residents. it is frustrating know we are paying for an endless supply of impoverished immigrants who run away from their own contries. We are not obligated to fix the world.
Marni wrote on Jan 19, 2006 9:33 AM:Yes Al I will run away (to another school district) and BELIEVE me it will not be easy as you stated in your comment. Actually it be VERY hard! I will be leaving my home, my community, many friends etc. All I want is to give my three (by the way who are MIXED) boys the very best I can. I am more than happy to "mix" (your term not mine)with people who have the same values and common goals as I do and if you don't believe that I would like to introduce you to my wonderful MIXED husband and children. Look at the facts there's a direct relationship between a high percentage of english learners, socio-economic level and low test scores it has nothing to do with racism or segregation it's just the facts.
Concerned Citizen wrote on Jan 19, 2006 5:53 PM:It is a great disappointment that the residence of Horsethief Canyon Ranch(HCR)did not have an opportunity to be part of the process of school redistricting. Many individuals who moved to the area had a great hope to send our children to the Corona-Norco school district due to the high API scores which speaks to the Corona-Norco school district's commitment to excellence. Now this hope is being taken away from the residence of this great community without their voices heard. Unfortunately, I believe that this movement of redistricting is just the start of the real intentions of the City of Lake Elsinore - that someday HCR would be annexed into its city to increase its tax base and revenue at the expense of our children's ability to learn and grow. My great hope is that there are enough concerned residence living at HCR that will bind together to prevent this from happening. If annexation is to become a reality, it would be prudent and wise to petition the City of Corona to extend its borders to Lake Street. To do this, the Citizens of HCR must petition the Local Agency Formation Commitee Process to revise the sphere of influence boundaries of Corona to extend further south pass Indian Truck Trail to Lake Street. Currently, HCR is part of the City of Lake Elsinore sphere of influence. This is part of the reason why I believe the Lake Elsinore Unified School District made this bold attempt to redistrict HCR towards their school system.
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