Significant changes are coming to Napa's elementary schools.

A Napa Valley Unified School District study has found that some schools are overcrowded and some are underutilized. It also found that while enrollment is expected to decline in coming years, the current population in the district's 22 elementary schools lacks balance, both in terms of the number of students at different campuses and ethnic diversity.

With NVUSD officials saying that school budgets are tight, they have decided to address this issue before the situation becomes more serious. In recent months, they formed a task force to work through alternatives and make proposals by March. Proposed solutions, presented in a series of forums to the community for the first time last week, range from closing some of the smaller elementary school campuses to redrawing school boundaries and limiting the number of students allowed to transfer from schools in their neighborhoods to campuses in other parts of town.

"I hope the (task force) finds a way to protect our small schools while keeping the district financially solvent," said Paul Curtis, who has a kindergartner at Yountville Elementary.

Curtis attended a public forum held Nov. 28 at Napa High School, where consultants led a one-hour presentation that distilled data reviewed by the task force over a period of several months. Graphs, charts, maps and numbers were discussed with the 50 to 60 people who turned out for the meeting, several of whom walked out frustrated.

Curtis said, "Several people thought we were going to find out options. Everything that was presented, a lot of people didn't understand."

Jamie King, a consultant working with the district, said school officials are trying to balance several concerns. The district has said it is considering closing three schools, Mt. George, Carneros and Salvador Elementary. Parents have noted these schools perform well academically, and asked whether NVUSD is bearing in mind such issues as test scores, quality of education and special programs.

"The district realizes the small schools are all very successful, but it's not about success or non-success. Hard decisions need to be made to help increase the success of schools, financially and academically," said Jamie King, a consultant with Jack Shreder and Associates, which worked with NVUSD on the study.

"This is going to be a difficult balancing act," said Joe Keebler, task force chair. "Every one of the committee members sees that you can't just consolidate a site without making suitable arrangements for administrators, faculty, students and programs."

Many Salvador parents were at the meeting Wednesday and praised the school.

"Salvador is a great school with great teachers. We do not want to think that the school will close. My daughter is so worried that she cannot sleep," said Ana Maria Serbin.

Another school in danger is Mt. George Elementary, which will celebrate its 70th anniversary next year. Mt. George is listed as an "underutilized" site, and currently has around 150 students.

Janine Burt, Mt. George principal, held a meeting with parents the day after the public forum to answer questions.

"I am trying to be a facilitator so that parents feel like they can participate in the decision-making process," said Burt.

At the meeting, Burt vocalized several options for her school other than consolidation.

"We would welcome new students, and even have room for growth. At one point we had 300 students. Even if we grow, we would still be able to have a small community feel. I believe there is still a place for small schools," said Burt.

Eight options

During the last task force meeting, committee members began to discuss the details with each proposed option. Members did not get much further than the details of option one, which is to consolidate Salvador Elementary into El Centro and Northwood elementary schools.

"We have to look at the options and determine its workability, socioeconomically, and ethnically," said Cheryl King.

The task force is looking at eight different options regarding the elementary schools.

In addition to closing Salvador and merging the students into El Centro and Northwood, members are considering moving Mt. George students to Vichy and Alta Heights; moving Carneros students to either West Park, Browns Valley, Snow, Salvador or Pueblo Vista elementary schools. They are also looking at expanding Mt. George's boundary lines to increase enrollment and allow room for growth at Phillips Edison.

Ethnic balance

At a task force meeting Wednesday, committee members agreed that moving the Mt. George population to Vichy would not be a good choice because it wouldn't promote ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. Both schools have similar student bodies.

Another problem for task force members is the consequence of the school district's open enrollment program. Open enrollment allows parents to choose to send their children to the campus of their choice. This has resulted in some schools having a high population of white students and other schools having a high population of Latino students.

"Parents who have made the decision to move their students from more ethnic communities will continue to make that decision," said Jamie King.

The task force also discussed the issue of combining lower-performing students with higher-performing students, and its effect on the overall student body. While some parents saw concerns with combining the students, the consultants stated this would not be a problem.

"Studies have shown that when lower-performing students attend higher-performing schools, the higher students are not brought down. Rather, the scores of lower performing students rise," said Jamie King.

Closure concerns

While it is not certain that any schools will be closed, that possibility has received the most attention from parents and officials from the "underutilized" schools.

"The three schools being considered for consolidation serve diverse populations," said Sarah Williams, principal of Salvador Elementary. "We have specially trained teachers and special programs to fit our students' needs. The options presented don't realize program issues," she said, referring to classes for English learners and other offerings.

"I like the diversity and size of (Salvador)," said Lorrie Thackary, parent of a student at Salvador. "Their program works, and they've been awarded with a Title I achievement award. That was a big achievement for our kids."

Mt. George, which might be recommended for consolidation into Vichy and Alta Heights, also offers special programs, said Burt.

"We are very different in our vision and program. We have worked together to create a focused, innovative vision and would hate to lose that," she said.

The task force responded to each comment made, assuring the community that program issues are being taken into consideration. They also, however, emphasized the reality of NVUSD's budget.

"If (the task force) doesn't make these decisions now, it'll be at the cost of something else," said Cheryl King. "This is not something the district could have avoided. This is not just a Napa problem, but a California problem."

Keebler noted that the district's study shows enrollment declining from the current 6,500 students to about 6,000 in the next five or so years.

Added Keebler, "The problem is declining enrollment. It's really hard, but when you have to maintain (underutilized schools), you have to take from something else. Our goal is to have students housed with compatible programs and more district funds to help everyone, then you have more sustainable programs."

The committee is planning to review all options during the next meeting, and make a decision within the coming weeks. The next task force meeting will be Dec. 14, at 5 p.m. in the NVUSD Office of Education board room.