An Open Letter to the Pacifica School District Board

I am writing as a staff member, alumni parent and community member of Ocean Shore School (OSS). I happened to be one of two OSS community members to be invited to the budget meetings on January 8 and 9. It was clear that the cabinet had set their eyes on closing the Ocean Shore site and relocating its staff and teachers to two different sites, essentially shuttering the program that has been in existence for over 50 years.

These proposals were not developed by the budget collaborative during their meetings in the previous 10 months. Reconfiguration was discussed as a possibility, but those members were told that any type of reconfiguration would mean a process of two years, community input and a task force to look at all possible outcomes and review studies. There is also a list of scenarios currently being circulated that was not created by either of those two committees. Some of these scenarios were discussed by the budget subcommittee and dismissed without reason.

I sought to come up with any plan that would help us keep our K-8 school together. Each idea was met with a, “No, we can’t do that!” with very little detail into why none of those plans were feasible or indication that they had even thought of more options.

The threat of county and state takeover is causing you to feel that you cannot hit pause and consider other options. Please listen to the voices of the people you serve, not just the cabinet none of whom live in Pacifica and will not feel the effects of these actions. The budget should not be balanced on the backs of one school community.

Our school’s unique program includes many pieces that cannot be transferred to a K-5 setting. Our huge commitment to cross-age collaboration includes reading buddies, STEM buddies, play buddies and teacher aides and helps build healthy relationships across large grade spans and increases the social emotional well-being of all of our students.

Our Oceans 411 program, which has received over $100,000 in grants, relies on our middle school students to run effectively. This program will not survive the separation of our middle school teachers and students who are an integral part of its planning and implementation. These unique features of our program that are not represented elsewhere in our district will be lost if this proposal goes forward.

This school year, the OSS community felt like we finally had positive leadership, strong morale and were beginning to recover from multiple losses. The rumors of closing our campus and the elimination of what our program provides, has meant that teachers are receiving multiple requests for private school applications. I believe that not only will you lose many highly qualified teachers that feel their voices aren’t being heard, but many families who want a smaller, more connected, K-8 community. There are many private schools very close to OSS that offer this. At least one charter school, based on our 50-year-old program, has contacted our community to gauge interest. I would hate to lose these valuable members of our community.

Losing any portion would be hard but losing a large portion to private or charter schools would mean any cuts you make now ineffective. The threat of county and state takeover is causing you to feel that you cannot hit pause and consider other options that would be able to keep our community together. Please listen to the voices of the people you serve, not just the cabinet that does not live here and do not see the students they serve as tiny humans who will be harmed by being uprooted from their school family. I hope that you are also feeling the pressure to look into other options. The budget should not be balanced on the backs of one school community.

Having a K-8 option on only the south edge of town is not an equitable solution for all students in Pacifica. While many students flourish at the comprehensive middle school, many are more successful in the K-8 model. Currently 43% of middle school students choose and thrive in this model. If you close Ocean Shore and Vallemar’s middle school’s programs, then only 17% would have this opportunity and only students who live in the south end of town would be geographically near one of these schools.

I implore you to look for options that are equitable for all students in our town. And appropriately engage the community and utilize them to come together to a solution that works for the staff, parents, and community at large.

Michelle Zuromski Kindergarten Teacher Ocean Shore School, Pacifica
This post was also published in Coastside News as a letter to the editor on January 21, 2025.