As California school districts struggle to improve student achievement and balance budgets in an era of cuts, they've got to think differently -- even radically.
The Rockefeller Institute of Government projects that pre-recession revenues for states won't recover until 2014. And California is among the states with the highest per-capita state revenue declines since 2007. Recovery may be longer in coming here.
To be sure, a generous federal stimulus package softened the blow of cuts to education, health care and more. But it is one-time money. And the governor and Legislature have pushed billions of dollars of spending into the future - deepening the budget hole.
The budget picture for schools won't improve any time soon.
The issue becomes: How to achieve efficiencies so limited resources can go toward classroom instruction?
We'd like to plant the seed of a radical idea for communities in the Sacramento River Delta. Why not explore the idea of having schools in these communities join districts in their own counties?
The 10 schools in Clarksburg, Rio Vista, Isleton, Walnut Grove and Courtland currently are spread across three counties in a very large River Delta Unified School District. Yet these Delta communities are very much tied to their counties by geography and history.
Clarksburg on the west side of the Sacramento River is very much part of Yolo County.
Rio Vista, also on the west side of the river, is very much a part of Solano County.
And the towns of Isleton, Walnut Grove and Courtland, along Highway 160 on the east side of the river, are very much a part of Sacramento County.
So here's the unorthodox idea:
The three schools in Clarksburg could join the Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento, which has grown from 5,800 students a decade ago to 7,200 today.
A new high school just opened in January with 86 classrooms, eight science labs, a television studio, a high-end computer lab, six multipurpose labs, an electronicsrobotics lab, a 450-seat performing arts theater, three swimming pools and several athletic fields and courts.
Clarksburg's wineries have given that town new life. Joining Washington Unified could be a big plus for these neighboring Yolo County communities.
The three elementary schools in Isleton (159 students), Walnut Grove (164 students) and Courtland (216 students) could join the Elk Grove Unified district in Sacramento County. That district has a stellar reputation and an array of programs that any community would envy.
And finally, the three schools in Rio Vista, on the west side of the river in southeastern Solano County, could join with the Dixon Unified School District.
This change makes good policy and economic sense. At a minimum, consolidating these school districts is worth detailing and debating.
Tomorrow: In southern Sacramento County, join Galt's separate elementary and high school districts.
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