Clovis residents' district-shifting plan rejected

Published online on Friday, Sep. 18, 2009

The state Board of Education on Thursday unanimously rejected a proposal by southwest Clovis residents to shift from Fresno Unified School District to Clovis Unified School District.

The state board, meeting in Sacramento, backed a Fresno County education committee vote in 2007 that also rejected the move. The county decision was appealed to the state board by southwest Clovis residents.

Residents seeking the change live in Clovis, but their children attend Fresno Unified schools. About 732 students -- living between Shaw and Ashlan avenues and Winery and Peach avenues -- who attend Viking Elementary, Scandinavian Middle or McLane High are affected.

The area has been part of Fresno Unified since 1960 when residents voted to join it. At that time, McLane had just been built.

The territory transfer first came up three years ago when the city of Clovis created a revitalization plan for southwest Clovis. City officials supported residents who wanted students in their neighborhood to attend Clovis schools.

Fresno Unified has opposed the territory transfer, but Clovis Unified, which was neutral for more than two years, approved a resolution supporting the transfer last month.

The change would have cost Fresno Unified yearly about $2.6 million in attendance money, and about $1 million for "disadvantaged students," plus state eligibility building grants of $27 million, said Ruthie Quinto, associate superintendent and chief financial officer for Fresno Unified.

Thursday's decision was disappointing, said Jo Ridgway, a spokeswoman for Clovis Include Us, the neighborhood group.Ridgway said residents may consider a charter school for the area or endorse Clovis Unified as a "district of choice," which allows students to change schools without permission from their home district.