AnonymousBy Alice P. Post, Founding Member of Coalition for Neighborhood Schools
The mission of Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is to provide neighborhood elementary school facilities in the downtown area of Santa Barbara. For generations, previous to shortsighted and disastrous decisions by the Santa Barbara school board in the 1970s, the area between the 600 block (Cota Street) and the 2100 block (Padre Street) of State Street, and those residential neighborhoods to the east and west, were home to three elementary schools: Lincoln, Wilson, and Garfield.
Lincoln School served the downtown area for over 100 years. The historic Lincoln School site is the current site of the Farmer’s market, at Cota and Santa Barbara Street, where a new police station is being entertained. The land is owned by the City of Santa Barbara. Wilson School, at the corner of Castillo and Anapamu Streets, is currently the Westside Community Center, also owned by the City of Santa Barbara. Garfield School is currently the Schott Center for Adult Ed, owned by SBCC.
While closing and selling off school sites must have seemed to be the “right thing to do at the time” (to the school board), the effects of that drastic divestment of school facilities is still being felt today throughout the community. The pain of that loss will actually never go away in terms of residential quality of life in Santa Barbara’s neighborhoods. The closure of those three schools was fought vigorously by the community, particularly by the “downtown” school communities of Lincoln, Wilson, and Garfield. I still occasionally meet someone my age or older who attended or taught at those schools. If you are one of those alums or retired teachers, we’d sure like to hear from you! I know there are many from my graduating class of Santa Barbara High.
Neighborhood schools create a number of significant community benefits. Neighborhood schools promote healthy activities because students can walk to school rather than being forced to ride in cars. Neighborhood schools promote community because students remain close to home, parents are more easily able to monitor their activities, and parents are more likely to interact and associate with other parents in the same neighborhood. In a downtown area, neighborhood schools result in stable property values, and promote downtown residential property ownership. Such schools also promote diversity and inclusion, as students interact with other students from different cultures.
The Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is hosting a Candidates’ Forum for candidates for the SBUSD on Thursday, September 17, at 7:00 pm on Zoom. Please email cns4schools@aol.com to receive the Zoom link. Kindly put “RSVP to Candidates’ Forum” in the Subject line.
We encourage the public to attend. Please submit your questions in advance by email.
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Reasonable, but schools/school districts have WAY bigger fish to fry right now…maybe bring this up again after COVID
Reasonable, but schools/school districts have WAY bigger fish to fry right now…maybe bring this up again after COVID
I agree that supporting public schools is essential. The idea of free public education is one of the foundations of the American experience and American exceptionalism. Over the years people with money and influence complained that they had to pay for this, instead of being proud of it. They wanted to give their children great education but resented the idea that less affluent people might also get this. It was an advantage to them and their heirs to strangle this leveling of society. We need to return to proper, even extravagant, investment in public schools to save our democracy.
I agree that supporting public schools is essential. The idea of free public education is one of the foundations of the American experience and American exceptionalism. Over the years people with money and influence complained that they had to pay for this, instead of being proud of it. They wanted to give their children great education but resented the idea that less affluent people might also get this. It was an advantage to them and their heirs to strangle this leveling of society. We need to return to proper, even extravagant, investment in public schools to save our democracy.
Life is all about timing… and the timing of this shaky. I’m all for changing all kinds of things about the current school system, but first things first let’s open the schools we have!! Then we can talk about some additional schools and perhaps some flexibility and updating of our current school systems (stop with the mandatory 8:15am… science says it’s too early for most kids so let them sleep!)
Life is all about timing… and the timing of this shaky. I’m all for changing all kinds of things about the current school system, but first things first let’s open the schools we have!! Then we can talk about some additional schools and perhaps some flexibility and updating of our current school systems (stop with the mandatory 8:15am… science says it’s too early for most kids so let them sleep!)
One candidate now running for the SBUSD school board currently costs taxpayers over a quarter million dollars every year as a school administrator for the very small Montecito School District – those sort of school overhead costs are punishing. ( Cite: Transparent California)
One candidate now running for the SBUSD school board currently costs taxpayers over a quarter million dollars every year as a school administrator for the very small Montecito School District – those sort of school overhead costs are punishing. ( Cite: Transparent California)
Being green matters more at SBUSD, than continually operating in the red.. School boards should not be playing global politics; they should be overseeing the fiscal and education basics of the local school system they were elected to serve.
Being green matters more at SBUSD, than continually operating in the red.. School boards should not be playing global politics; they should be overseeing the fiscal and education basics of the local school system they were elected to serve.
So now, we have another spot opening up to supervise and educate our kids…no it’s not in the spots that are designed and equipped to teach them, no no no, we’re going to do it anywhere and everywhere else!!! As per the article:
“The program has more demand that it has space.
Gutierrez says, “the school district has provided lunches, and the word is getting out in the community that this learning center exists. We have a waiting list now.”
She says an effort is underway to open other centers. Gutierrez said, “they’re going to open a center at Elings park, and hopefully the City of Santa Barbara will open one of their parks to work with Just Communities to open one of these learning centers.”
What a great solution!!! Good job City Councilmember Alejandra Gutierrez!!!! We have to teach our kids…but let’s definitely not do it in the safest best spot…that would be crazy!!!
So now, we have another spot opening up to supervise and educate our kids…no it’s not in the spots that are designed and equipped to teach them, no no no, we’re going to do it anywhere and everywhere else!!! As per the article:
“The program has more demand that it has space.
Gutierrez says, “the school district has provided lunches, and the word is getting out in the community that this learning center exists. We have a waiting list now.”
She says an effort is underway to open other centers. Gutierrez said, “they’re going to open a center at Elings park, and hopefully the City of Santa Barbara will open one of their parks to work with Just Communities to open one of these learning centers.”
What a great solution!!! Good job City Councilmember Alejandra Gutierrez!!!! We have to teach our kids…but let’s definitely not do it in the safest best spot…that would be crazy!!!
How can there be talk of more schools when the school population is dropping. As it is the amount of money Californians pay for schools is very high while accountability in terms of the very important scores is very low.