I sent another email to OCDE about the proposed meeting which hasn't happened yet. In it I made several more points about why CHEP sites shouldn't be closed. I also stopped calling them sites.
I know this is the normal nomenclature but I called them schools instead. It's easy to say we can close a site but it's harder to say close a school. So from now on I'm saying the CHEP West School and the CHEP North School.
OCDE considers CHEP a program. One of many. But I argue it's a school in its own right. Not only is it a school worth saving but I think it's the solution to OCDE's financial problems. Because enrollment is down public schools are having to stretch their budgets a lot more.
But the solution, I argue, is not just budget cuts. But look why parents are taking their kids out of public school to begin with. Homeschool is on the rise as families look for ways take control back for their kids education. This will happen whether CHEP exists or not. By closing two schools they cut off access to the revenue those kids provide as well as potential revenue from future kids leaving their schools.
If we consolidate to Tustin then the pool of potential students shrinks to just that area. It doesn't make financial sense to close schools that can be grown with a little bit of effort. We must first stop the closure, then promote in earnest. Grow.