A representative of OCDE contacted me by phone. We discussed many things and I pointed out what I saw as a flaw in their reasoning.
He pointed to the numbers again, which showed the trend of less students enrolled in CHEP year by year. I made the counter argument that if you look at the trend of Homeschool in general you can see that it's growing. If we don't do something to change our declining numbers, then in a few years there will be no more CHEP.
If you have a company that sells Widgets, and people stop buying them, then you don't just tighten your belts. You have to ask, "Widget sales are on the upswing, so why aren't people buying our widgets. How can we get more people to buy our widgets?"
We need to promote. Get the word out that CHEP exists and and tout it's strengths. We need to bring in more families who want to homeschool. That will save CHEP.
And having multiple sites is one of our main selling points. If you live far from Tustin then you can still attend because there may be a site close to you. You can participate.
If they close the North and West sites they cut off our ability to promote and you shrink faster, quickening the trend of decline. Whether they intend it or not in a few years, if the trend continues then CHEP will essentially bleed out.
We need an infusion not an amputation.
He wants to meet in person to go over these points in greater detail. I was unable to get him to say the sites would stay open but I told him I would not meet with him after the sites close.