A Message From ABCUSD Board President Ernie Nishii: ‘The High Cost of Inaction’

By Ernie Nishii, President,  ABC Unified School District Board of Education

After months of reviewing data, listening to community input, and weighing options provided by our consultant, School Works, to consolidate four schools and reconfigure middle school to 6-7-8, on June 17, the ABC School board declined to follow recommendations and elected not to provide policy direction to address declining enrollment. As President of the Board, I honor the will of our board and commend our community for its dedication to our schools and for some very innovative ideas.  

Does the board’s vote mean that no actions will be taken to address declining enrollment? No. Staff will continue to compete with the other 977 public school districts in California for ever more competitive grants and donors to fund our programs.  The district will continue to address the negative academic impacts of declining elementary and middle school enrollment. I am hopeful that the two demographic studies and analysts are wrong and that, instead of a decline, ABC bucks the California trend of declining enrollment and students push through the obstacles of other districts and find their way into ABC. We welcome students with open arms. When we run out of our reserves in three years, ABC will do its best to find ways to provide our employees fair pay without drastically cutting our staff and teachers. We will persevere.  

Some of the public who watched the meetings may not understand why, despite the pain of closure, I felt we needed to consolidate so many schools in two years.  Why now? Why not study the issues more with more accurate enrollment data to find a more perfect solution? The people pleaser, academic in me says – yeah, wait for a better solution. I would prefer to be like Captain Kirk from Star Trek and command Scotty to find me a better way. For those who listen to the voice commanding additional study, I understand because part of me likes that idea to procrastinate. But I also know that this is not a perfect world and that in no situation will I ever please everyone. We are not in a sci-fi TV show. Time is not on our side. We can find a million rational reasons why the outside analyst considered the wrong facts and factors. But if we are honest, what I consider a priority factor will not be the same for everyone, and, after over eight years of study and thousands of hours poring over the issues, analysis is leading us to paralysis. After almost a decade of studying declining enrollment, we need to get out of the ivory tower and act.  

Time waits for no one. To wait for a proposed study session, as suggested by some, needs direction. Specifically, to study what? How to increase population growth? Study more grants? Study different criteria that meet a better or different definition of what schools to consolidate? More studies would create more unease for the entire district, cost money, and take more time we don’t have.

Parents do not have the luxury of time for us to reanalyze the same facts, hoping a different solution comes up. Their kids are growing, and our job as leaders is to address their needs while they are in school and not years after they graduate. We can procrastinate and decide later, but this shortchanges parents and our community the time they will need to adjust to changes that must occur. Other districts have provided short transitions with disastrous results. If we delay, teachers and staff lose precious time to prepare for the changes, parents become confused, and something as simple as the bus schedule is chaotic. Procrastinating does not help our community.  

You may have heard misinformation about stopping Schools of Choice. Schools of Choice is a policy that allows parents to choose which schools their children attend. It is not true that we can stop Schools of Choice. Even if it were true, it is inappropriate. Parents have the right to choose. They have the right to put their kids in a performing arts school, STEM-focused school, or folk arts magnet, because it is THEIR kids. Denying parents the right to choose doesn’t change the fact that as enrollment declines, our district income declines. 

Why didn’t I vote to close some schools on the SchoolWorks “recipe” as a start? Have you tried to bake a cake using only half of the recipe’s ingredients? Skip the flour? It usually doesn’t turn out well. The SchoolWorks recipe included geographic and demographic fairness and a way to address middle school enrollment. Geographically, the plan addresses all parts of our district. The conversion to 6-7-8 middle schools will affect several other school sizes, and that is why we needed more than a year to work out the details for a smooth transition. After listening to the community, I did not think it would be fair to only effect reform in part of the district and not the whole district. The board, to its credit, also rejected these well-meaning partial “band-aids.” Knowing the trauma of making hard decisions is rarely voluntarily revisited, this band-aid would have an insufficient effect and long-term consequences. 

So, where do we go from here?

We have exceptional educators. I know they will continue doing their best for students. But I also know that without meaningful action, we’ll face even harder decisions in the years ahead – whether it’s cutting programs, increasing class sizes, or losing staff to better pay in other places. None of these are outcomes we want, and none are good for our students.

I didn’t run for school board to make difficult decisions, but I also didn’t run to avoid them. I ran to serve our students and families and to ensure we provide the best possible education with the resources we have. That responsibility requires us to make tough calls, even when they’re unpopular. These last few months, filled with passionate public comment and hard conversations, have been difficult for everyone. 

What stood out most to me was how deeply our families care about their schools. That engagement is powerful. I hope to see it continue throughout the year. Every Board meeting includes important decisions about programs, services, and the future of ABCUSD. Your voices matter, and your continued involvement makes a difference.

Now is the time to come together as a community. Our students are counting on us.

They deserve nothing less.