Western Placer Unified School District and the city of Lincoln

K to12 education in the Lincoln area goes back to 1872 with the formation of the Central School District, located on Fiddyment Road just west of the city. Other schools were added over the years and, in 1964, the current Western Placer Unified School District (WPUSD) was created. Twenty-five years ago, the district was like the city of Lincoln – rural and proud of it. Then, there were 4,500 students in six K to 12 schools. Fast forward to today and it all has changed, with the district now having 7,000 students in 13 schools (eight grade schools, two middle schools and three high schools, including the new Twelve Bridges High School). Geographically, the district covers 168 square miles, including the current and future city of Lincoln, and the surrounding areas from the Rocklin border on our south up to and including the city of Sheraton on our north. At Lincoln's build-out in 2050, there will be 25,000 total students and the district will have to build another nine elementary schools, another two middle schools and another two high schools. Serious increases and directly in line with the city's forecast growth to an expected 130,000 residents in another 30 years. It is sometimes believed that the district and the city are really "brother and sister" but it's more like "cousins:" * Both organizations have their separate governing bodies, the Western Placer Unified School District Board of Trustees and the Lincoln City Council. Candidates run in the same election cycle(s) but are totally independent; for both organizations, the governing bodies and the elections are non-partisan. * Both organizations have their separate funding sources, i.e., a large portion of the 1-percent property tax and state of California monies for the school district, and sales and property tax (relatively a small percentage of the 1 percent) plus user fees for the city. * Both organizations share the same "house," i.e., City Hall. Western Placer Unified School District is on the fourth floor and the city occupies the first three floors; both organizations have joint use of common meeting rooms. * Both organizations use each other's facilities – parks, playgrounds, swimming pools – under a joint-use agreement that goes back many years. Regarding elections, the City Council is now moving to five distinct districts while the Western Placer Unified School District Board is comprised of two members from outside the city boundaries and three from within the city boundaries. The school district is led by an appointed Superintendent, Scott Leaman, who is retiring this June after 15 years in that position, while the city is led by an appointed city manager. It's an interesting story about how the two organizations came to be housed in the 600 6th St. building (opened in 2007). The district owned the land where the current City Hall is located and also the land/building at the Community Center on Joiner Boulevard. The district transferred these assets to the city in exchange for their 25 percent of the total construction cost and, voila, the new structure was built. The city manages the building and all operating costs are shared proportionally. The district also uses (and pays for) two Lincoln police officers, called School Resource Officers, for school safety. The second officer is paid with funding from a state grant. School funding is exceptionally complex and changed dramatically with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. Previously, each school district set its own taxation levels but now property tax monies go up to the state and then are returned to the localities with numerous allocation formats. The primary allocation is based on average daily attendance (ADA), an outcome from a 1978 lawsuit. New schools are built with a combination of development impact fee monies, state funding, and local bond funding (found on your tax bill as a separate charge). Charter schools also play into the educational mix. In Lincoln, we have the recently opened John Adams Academy (general education) and the Horizon Academy (home-school based). The district has general, but not direct, oversight responsibilities for the charter schools. Charter schools use the same funding sources as Western Placer Unified School District schools (ADA, plus private funds). The district, the city of Lincoln and Sierra College jointly constructed the Lincoln Library on Twelve Bridges Boulevard. It's a beautiful structure and will be the subject of a future column. When the new Lincoln High School is open (late 2021) on the joint site, it will play a featured role in educating our youth. What about the "old" Lincoln High School. It will live on serving education, having undergone a $14-million renovation. The portable classrooms will be removed and the whole facility has been upgraded to serve the future. The district's mission statement says it all: "Empower students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes for success in an ever-changing world…" Richard Pearl is a Sun City Lincoln Hills resident for the last 12 years. He can be reached at richardpearl.LNM@gmail.com.