It has been a very busy two months. I would like to start by thanking all of the parents, staff, students and community members who gave us their opinions at the recent school board meetings. Thanks also to the local press who kept our community aware of what was occurring. All of your insights and efforts have been much appreciated.

The decision to close Oak Hill Middle School was not an easy one.

In the fall of 1990, I was selected as principal of Oak Hill Middle School. It was my first experience as a principal, it was the largest school in Lake County at the time with over 725 students, and I had just turned 34 years old.

I put my heart and soul, everything I had, into that school. Those were the years when the upper buildings were built. A group of hardworking dads helped us build the dugouts on the lower field and the cement OHMS on the side of the hill. The memories of the students, parents and staff whom I worked with I still cherish.

We must be considerate of the feelings of loss that those who work and go to school there are feeling now. They have worked very hard and deserve our appreciation. We will embrace them in their new settings next year and we will truly benefit from their experience and knowledge.

The decision to close Oak Hill was solely for financial reasons. This school has approximately the same number of students as Burns Valley, but requires a much larger staff. For example, Burns Valley has one principal; OHMS has two. Burns Valley has one and one half secretarial positions; OHMS has three.

We will save money by dispersing our seventh and eighth graders between four sites. The majority of this savings will be realized through a reduction in personnel. KUSD’s proposed expenses are now very close to our projected revenue for next year. That means that our schools are fiscally sound.

We are still in the process of making some difficult decisions. One thing that we clearly learned from the board meetings is that our community values our children, our schools and our relationships. It is our duty to provide the best possible programs for our students and that is exactly what the KUSD staffs are planning now. We must have strong academic programs for all levels of learners, while at the same time providing enrichment in areas of music, drama, career tech., and athletics.

I believe that the decision to create four K-8 community-based schools is a move towards stronger, longterm relationships, and that this, in turn, will strengthen our ability to educate our students. The elementary school staffs will be allowed the opportunity to work with their students for close to nine years! The K-8 configuration will allow us to offer more activities to more students than we did before. Our K-8 programs must, and will, provide students with the opportunities to excel in areas of their choosing, whether academics, the arts and/or athletics.

Many of you in our community said that you would volunteer at your local K-8 school to help overcome budget deficits and make sure that these opportunities are available to our youth. The site principals and I will be taking you up on that offer and asking for your support before we start the new school year. A child-centered, volunteer-minded community can offer our children a comprehensive, multi-faceted, educational program. Together, we can make this happen.

Dr. William R. MacDougall, Ed.D., is in his first year as Konocti Unified School District's superintendent. He writes periodic updates with community members to let them know the state of the district.