Fountain Valley : School Reorganization Options to Be Studied

The school board on Thursday will consider two options for reorganizing the elementary school system.

The first is to change four kindergarten through eighth-grade schools to kindergarten through sixth grade; maintain three existing kindergarten through fifth-grade schools; maintain three currently existing sixth- through eighth-grade middle schools, and offer three schools with kindergarten through eighth grade.

The second option would be to change all K-8 schools to K-5 schools and to assign all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students to one of three existing middle schools.

An alternative is to leave the system as it is. The district staff will present the options to the board Thursday, and the trustees may decide to put one of the proposals up for a public hearing April 17, a spokeswoman for the district said.

The options stem from a detailed school organization study made last year by the superintendent and his staff. That study listed 10 possible organization alternatives, and the board of trustees in February selected two for further consideration.

The Thursday meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at the district headquarters, 17210 Oak St. It is open to the public.

Changes in the Fountain Valley school system, including several school closures, have been made in recent years because of declining enrollment. Public unhappiness with some of the changes has produced periodic friction, including a recall effort against board members in 1983 that was unsuccessful.