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<\/p>\nThe Inglewood school district is set to regain control of its local public schools next year \u2014 after the longest state takeover of a school system in California history, officials announced Thursday.<\/p>\n
Inglewood Unified was beset by financial crisis and low academic achievement when the state took control in 2012 as a condition of a $29 million emergency loan to keep the school system afloat. The receivership touched off a painful community journey that brought on job reductions, layoffs and school closures as enrollment sharply declined. <\/p>\n
Although financial collapse was averted, the troubles that contributed to the receivership were exacerbated over the years by leadership instability \u2014 with 11 appointed leaders over an 11-year span. Austerity measures that included comparatively low salaries contributed to staff turnover and hiring challenges.<\/p>\n
Nearly 14 years after the state takeover began the Inglewood Unified School District will soon be run by locally elected board members and a superintendent of their choosing. <\/p>\n
Much has changed during these years in Inglewood, which has become a world-class sports and entertainment venue, home to So-Fi Stadium and the Rams, and Intuit Dome and the Clippers. Historically, a working- and middle-class, substantially Black community, the city saw an influx of Latino families and then in more recent years, neighborhoods have gentrified, with many older homeowners remaining in place and many young families priced out. <\/p>\n
The countdown to the school district\u2019s own transformation is underway. Barring political or legal intervention, local control can return when required performance parameters are positive for more than a year. The county has a primary role in making the decision, with oversight from the state superintendent of public instruction and the head of the state board of education. <\/p>\n
In an interview, county education office Supt. Debra Duardo noted that an independent evaluation team credited the district with meeting 153 standards in key areas: student achievement; community relations and governance; and management of finances, personnel and facilities. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a huge accomplishment,\u201d Duardo said. \u201cThey\u2019ve never been able to meet these standards that are very rigorous.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very, very close to getting there, and we want to celebrate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To critics, a return to local control is long overdue \u2014 and some have tried to apply legal and political pressure.<\/p>\n
A complaint submitted to the state attorney general in December alleges that the school closures \u201cdisproportionately\u201d affected students with disabilities, English learners and other vulnerable students.<\/p>\n
The closures left \u201centire neighborhoods … without a local school, creating \u2018school deserts\u2019 while disrupting educational services,\u201d according to the complaint, which was filed by the ACLU of Southern California and John Hughes, head of the district\u2019s teachers union. <\/p>\n
Conflicting Inglewood narratives<\/p>\n
School district enrollment has plummeted, dropping from nearly 18,000 students in 2003-04 to fewer than 6,000 today. Depending on how the tally is made, 30% to more than 40% of campuses have closed.<\/p>\n
The county education office talks of gradual but real progress as well as difficult but necessary decisions to avert educational and financial disaster. They also describe a school system in recovery that offers a quality academic product.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve really begun to turn around the instructional program,\u201d said county-appointed Administrator James Morris. For older students, he points to new career technical programs and for younger students, a structured reading program.<\/p>\n
Although teachers salaries have been the lowest among K-12 school systems in the county, significant recent raises are kicking in.<\/p>\n
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Inglewood High cheer squad members perform with the marching band during a school-district conference at Morningside High. <\/p>\n
(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The district headquarters will be demolished to become a YMCA \u2014 eventually giving local students their first access to a pool as part of a public-school program. The district office will move into one of the closed campuses.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the two, formerly large, comprehensive high schools have consolidated into one, with Inglewood High students moving to Morningside High while Inglewood High is nearly totally rebuilt. The $240 million bond-funded project includes a pedestrian bridge connecting the school to a refurbished city library. Morningside High will eventually be torn down for a residential development.<\/p>\n
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