Although some schools in Kern High School District are doing well, other schools with large numbers of high-needs students are falling behind because they are not being targeted for improvement by school officials.
In 2015-16 90% of the $37.1 million in LCAP funds, which the law stipulates are to be used to improve academic performance for high-needs students, was allocated on a district-wide basis rather than targeted toward schools with large numbers of high needs students.
Rather than targeting specific high needs schools such as Mira Monte High (90.6% of whose students are high needs), South High (90.6%), Arvin High (87.6%), and East High (83.5%), school officials chose to give the same slice of a pie for high needs students to Centennial High (24% of whose students are high needs), Stockdale High (32%), Liberty High (18%), and Frontier (24%).
It comes as no surprise that the schools with the highest needs are on the south and east sides of Bakersfield, while the better performing schools are on the west side. Fairness and State Law dictate that we target those schools with higher needs, but, unfortunately, our decision makers are distributing LCAP funds evenly across those schools that need the least help and those that need the most.
Join the Kern Education Justice Collaborative and the Dolores Huerta Foundation to demand that our decision makers target LCAP funds towards schools with the most high needs students.
Join in LCAP Public Comment Sessions! Go to the following link to see KHSD LCAP Meeting Calendar
For more information on upcoming DHF/KEJC LCAP Public Comment Trainings, contact Gerald Cantu, Ph.D., Dolores Huerta Foundation, Education Program Associate at (661) 322-3033 ext. 1209
Read the article at the following link U.S. News & World Report High School Rankings
