No. The district claims transparency by citing seven “Budget Collaborative Meetings” and two limited sub-committee sessions (with a subset of members that attended the budget collaborative meetings). While the district asserts that these meetings involved every school site, actual participation was extremely minimal. For Ocean Shore, only five pre-selected representatives including the principal, one teacher, one classified staff member, one PTO representative, and one parent attended the broader budget collaborative meetings. Importantly, this committee never reached a consensus – or even a clear recommendation – to close any school.
The Superintendent’s Budget Collaborative Meetings held by the district were all closed-door meetings. The first mention that school reorganization/closure would be looked at was on December 11, 2024. Dr. Williams, district cabinet, and their hired consultant informed the committee that this process would take 1-2 years, requiring community engagement, the formation of a 7-11 committee, impact analysis, and other studies before any options or recommendations would be made. At the December 11, 2024 meeting, no specific school was singled out for reorganization or closure – any school(s) could have been considered.
Separate closed-door meetings with the much smaller budget subcommittee were held on January 8 and 9, 2025, where Dr. Williams and her cabinet presented four scenarios, all involving the closure of Ocean Shore to the subcommittee for the first time. According to participants, they were instructed not to share any meeting details beyond the group and not given the opportunity to discuss or evaluate alternatives to closing schools. For more context, read a staff member’s open letter.
Most of the Pacifica School District community which doesn’t include other community members (such as merchants) only became aware of the proposed closure at a special meeting on January 11, 2025 – just 11 days before the January 22, 2025 Board vote.
The community still has no chance for a two-way dialogue with the Board. Following the decision, the district offered brief “Listening Sessions” for the community (sending the invite only to school parents, leaving the broader community in the dark). These sessions took place only after the resolution had already been passed, leaving little room for meaningful input, and district staff were not present in most of these meetings.