The Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) strongly opposes a petition to create a new school district in the Northgate area of Walnut Creek, which the State Board of Education plans to consider on Wednesday, July 13.
MDUSD says its position is bolstered by the California Department of Education (CDE) staff recommendation that the State Board deny the petition because it fails to meet the conditions legally required to allow such a division of the District.
Mt. Diablo Unified also includes Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill, Pacheco and portions of Lafayette, Martinez, Bay Point, Pittsburg and unincorporated areas in Contra Costa County.
“In addition to failing to meet all of the minimum conditions for approval, the CDE did not find any compelling local educational needs or concerns that would be addressed by the unification proposal,” according to the staff report.
“Further, the proposed unification would remove the most affluent area of the Mt. Diablo USD in order to create a smaller, less diverse, more affluent school district.” Based on this analysis, the CDE recommends that the State Board “disapprove the petition to form a new unified school district from the Northgate portion of the Mt. Diablo USD.”
The Contra Costa County Committee on School District Reorganization previously denied the petition in 2017 after community members in the Northgate area of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) submitted it to the Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools on February 23, 2017.
The petitioners appealed the county decision, seeking to form a new school district that would include the following schools and their attendance areas: Bancroft Elementary, Valle Verde Elementary, Walnut Acres Elementary, Foothill Middle, and Northgate High schools – all located in Walnut Creek. The new district would not include Eagle Peak Montessori, an MDUSD approved charter school within the proposed district, or Oak Grove Middle School and Ygnacio Valley High School, which are located within the new district’s proposed boundaries, but serve students who live outside of its boundaries.
Why don’t they oppose changing the name of Concord High?I went there when it was brand new the day it opened.And I think it is a bunch of political crap to change the Minuteman mascot.
Totally agree with you
AGREED!
To the person who created this…Tell me you’re racist without telling me you’re racist
Let me guess that the real issue is that the school district hasn’t been allocating the per student amount and will “lose” money. This is the only reason why they opposed Clayton Valley becoming a charter school. Since they didn’t allocate the money evenly, they “lost” money but it was a situation of their own making. Each school receives different per student allocations based on what the district thinks.
+1 +2 +3
Who cares what the MDUSD “strongly opposes” maybe they should worry about their students and not the money…hands down the worst district in CA. Maybe they should worry about CA. educational ranking which sits at #44 in the US
All of the reasons the MDUSD says it needs from Walnut Creek schools are the exact reason Walnut Creek wants out of the district.
… of course MDUSD opposes it… Northgate area is one of their “cash cows” …. I learned the hard way that $$ going to certain schools / areas will be siphoned off to go to other schools / areas of MDUSD that gets less (speaking of donations and general help).
It’s a given that if mdusd opposes something, then we should do whatever they are opposing.
If MDUSD opposes it, it is probably a good idea.
@yoyo
MDUSD supports domestic terrorism (BLM). The district has gone woke and lost its way.
+1
correct
They should change the motto of MDUSD, to “ignoring parent voices and academic growth in favor of preserving our monolithic under-achieving district for years”
Only if they include Ygnacio, Woodside and Oak Grove. All these schools used to be top performers not they’re all slowly disintegrating. I wonder why!
Have seen the students that leave those schools?
We all know why. What is the only thing that has changed in the equation?
Be great to see a charter school dropped into the Northgate area, probably not reasonable, but would be great to have some competition for MDUSD. Hog tied by union crap and overpaid administration that couldn’t survive in the private sector.
Changing and removing MDUSD so that Northgate is it’s own school district will not meet the requirements. MDUSD Board is correct. Why do I say that? Well, if Northgate became it’s own district they would have to figure out how that would benefit MDUSD and how it would benefit our community to create a school district that would be likely one of the most wealthiest in California. How would they be able to leave MDUSD and create a Title One District? How would they be able to leave MDUSD and leave it a poorer district? Well, if they left MDUSD and created their “own district” it would leave MDUSD with critical title one difference between the two districts. DO NORTHGATE PARENTS REALIZE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO INCLUDE TITLE ONE STUDENTS. And no they wouldn’t be able to pick and choose as any child who wants to attend would be able to do just that….wonder how NG parents feel about that? Maybe that’s why they want to leave MDUSD that way they can control the process. However, I’ hear to tell you the law is against you controlling it. The law won’t allow it. And not only that but the State of CA ain’t gonna let you leave. How do you like that?
Most wealthy* or wealthiest*
Might need to brush up on your grammar…this new district may help with that
@Denise- I understand what your saying and I believe your right.
The NG area residents have the money to support their own charter and should do it, since I don’t think they will ever be able to break away. I went to YV/Oak Grove in the 80’s and YV was ok, but Oak Grove was sinking slowly. Unfortunately both have gone down the tubes now.
My kids went to school in P Hill and both my wife and I along with numerous parents were involved with the schools at each level. It was disheartening to donate time and money and see no changes because all the donations were going to the schools where they had no parent involvement and/or donations. The district will never have enough funds to really help the under performing schools, sadly it’s just a fact. I know there are kids and families at those schools that do value education but it’s nowhere near the same % as schools that are performing well.
Is the answer really to have all the funds funneled away from better performing schools? Throwing money at problem schools is not the fix.Trying to balance life’s inequalities is not the districts job.
I’m not wealthy and we struggled to afford to live where we did and the reason was for the better performing school. I know there are lots of families like ours that are not wealthy but go without to get our kids into better performing schools. My kids are out of school now but all my neighbors continue to deal with the same issue.
I just want the balance of funds to be equally split between each school! Is that too much to ask?
I am for this as am sick and tired of this woke crap that they are teaching our younger citizens and ignoring and erasing history that matters. I have a ton of family who are teachers and they opposed “common core” from the beginning.
I hope that Walnut Creek-Northgate gets this passed. Tired of reverse discrimination. Period. Everyone should stand on their own merits and work to achieve success no matter what the obstacles in life’s journey. That is how it has been done for years and what makes America what it is.
The schools south of Ygnacio should definitely have their own district. Or just merge Northgate into Acalanes Union High School District, if they want it.
I can’t imagine paying $2-$4 million for a home and have your child attend a school associated with MDUSD.
Denise, if you are a MDUSD educator, your post is a shining example as to why parents are so anxious to leave the district. “Here” not “here” “its” not “it’s” and so forth. MDUSD parents are just tired of being offered sub-standard schools compared to those of the other local districts. Not racism, just wanting some accountability from those in charge.
My child is at Northgate and is getting a good education- great experience.
That said, my skin in the game is out in two years so it doesnt matter but I wholly support the creation of the NGUSD . Title 1 kids transfer kids its all good: just get out from the bloated bureaucratic cow that is MDUSD.
Yes, I dont believe that I’m responsible for the schools in a different city. And my interracial family agrees so your racist narrative is moot.
I say break it up along geographical city/town lines. We are no longer an area of few thousand people. Certainly a municipality can apply to join a specific district, but there has to be some connection like geography. Unincorporated areas get stuck in the district they are geographically next to or reside in.
If Northgate and College Park split off of the communist MDUSD then maybe they will be forced to reduce board staff. Last one in is first one out! Sorry Marxist black lady from Berkeley LoL
One of my flies told me: (cause I know there is interest
https://mdusd.org/pf4/cms2/news_themed_display?id=1656646847369