A United PVUSD

By Rodney M Brooks

Why secession doesn't work for me.

To be legal, secession must comply with the nine criteria established by the state. The most important of which is by splitting the district you can not promote racial segregation. The last secession petition complied with only 6 out of 9 criteria. It failed because it increased racial isolation.

To be equitable the PVUSD would need to be reimbursed for the cost of the bond that Watsonville paid to build Aptos High. If we further segregate ourselves by splitting into two districts, will we loose the $1,000,000 a year we get in desegregation money?

To be fair, the new district would have to start communicating with the teachers and classified employees so that the change works for them. As a manager of people, I can't imagine the discomfort many of the employees must feel not knowing if there is to be a split and what the new district employee policies will be.

Currently over 500 children living in Watsonville zip codes attend school in Aptos. Parents living on Larkin Valley area, upper Calabasas Rd area, Amesti Rd area, and the upper Freedom Blvd area frequently send their children to school in Aptos. While the current children may be able to maintain their places in the new Aptos School District, future children would have no such right. Interdistrict transfers must be approved by both districts.

After studying all the documents available to the public from the district office of the PVUSD, I conclude secession is a good deal for Aptos and and bad deal for Watsonville. There is absolutely nothing Watsonville gains. The normal essence of a deal between two parties is that everybody gets something. Sure, you have to give a little to get a little, but you end up with something you can live with. Unfortunately, secession violates this by being a win-win proposition for Aptos, and a loose-loose propostion for Watsonville.