Moiola Parents and Patch Users Suggest Cost-Saving Alternatives to School Closure

Ever since the Fountain Valley School District's School Boundaries and Closure Committee decided to suggest closing one of the district's campuses in an effort to save money, parents and concerned residents have been suggesting other ways to close the budget gap.

Moiola parents have been compiling a list of cost-saving alternatives with the intent of presenting them to the school board before a final decision is reached. Wednesday, Fountain Valley Patch will sit down with Superintendent Mark Ecker, and when we do, we'll present those alternatives to him.

The list of proposed alternatives includes:

• redistributing the cost savings as a cost cut to each school in the district.
• soliciting donations from philanthropists, private donors, and families.
• moving the district offices into some of the empty classrooms.
• renting out empty space from the district offices.
• making Moiola more appealing as a magnet school, kindergarten prep, and GATE school.
• publicizing Moiola through advertisement and test scores.
• parking school buses at vacant school sites rather than renting out space.
• cutting district officials’ salaries.

Patch users were asked if they had any , and their list includes:

• having an outside auditor look at the district’s finances.
• merging multiple school districts together.
• convening a committee to look into alternative revenue sources rather than going straight to closing a school.
• having volunteers perform non-teaching school duties.
• instituting a year-long wage and benefits freeze.

District officials have estimated that closing a campus could save the district around $400,000 per year. More than 100 Moiola parents signed a petition threatening to remove their children from the district should Moiola be closed, which could create a loss of $4,800 per student.