BCS Final Offer 2012-13

The Prop 39 process for 2012-13 is coming to a close.  BCS provided their feedback to the District on March 1st, and the District needed to deliver the final facilities offer by today.  We emailed a copy to BCS last night, and I'm posting it here, so that folks can see it in all it's detail.

Summary Letter
Exhibits A-G
Exhibit H
Egan Site Map
Blach Site Map

The quick summary:

• BCS K-6 will remain on the Egan site.  We have significantly expanded the BCS footprint on Egan to approximately 7.7 acres, and we will be providing additional buildings to accommodate the growth of their K-8 program.
• BCS 7-8 will be located at Blach.  We have provided an additional ~3.7 acres on Blach for their exclusive use.
• We have provided access to specialized teaching space at Blach.  This includes the track, the gymnasium, science labs, etc.  It is much more cost effective for the district to carve out some time for BCS access rather than to provide dedicated portables for this purpose. 

BCS is free to configure their students in any manner they wish.  However, the specialized teaching space provided at Blach may only be used by BCS students in grades 7-8.  That is consistent with our own in-district students.  (i.e My 5th grader doesn't take PE in a gymnasium with hardwood floors, so neither do the BCS K-6 students)

The annual process of allocating facilities is a very difficult one.  BCS has a vision for what they want for their kids, but LASD is required to balance that against the needs of the entire student population.It is something akin to asking the Site Committee or PTA at one school what they'd like:  It is easy to envision everything you need to make your own program "perfect", but those needs have to be balanced against the needs of all the other students in the district.  I believe this offer achieves that goal.

It remains to be seen whether BCS will attempt to litigate this offer.  They have certainly made plenty of noise in the press about it, but the District has been meticulous in our efforts to ensure both that the offer is completely legal, and also that our methodology is transparent and adheres to the guidelines provided by the Appellate Court ruling and Superior Court judgement. 

I remain very committed to reaching a long term facilities agreement with BCS, but of course that takes the agreement of both parties.  Only time will tell if we can move from this annual process that consumes so much of our time to a longer term process that reflects the needs of our entire community.  We have 10 programs operating on 9 sites.  Right now, someone has to share.  I am hopeful that our entire community, including BCS, can support a bond measure that would help us acquire a 10th site to accommodate the growth in our public school population.