The Feb. 3 meeting continued the theme of the district's Jan. 29 meeting, with more than 50 parents, teachers and students rising to speak out against the district's proposal to close Hammer, Hester and Erikson elementary schools in the fall.

The district is considering shutting the three schools as a way to address declining elementary school enrollment and save approximately $1.5 million in the face of a $10 million deficit in its 2004­05 budget.

"I really want you to think from your hearts," Hammer parent Patricia Madden told district officials during the public comments session. "Listen to these people .... look at these people's faces, and their children. Go and see what other cuts you could make."

"I know that our parents can band together and help you build the income you need to save our schools," said Tatiana Diaz, mother of a first-grader at Hester. "We have plans. Please listen."

Throughout the 2¹/2 hour forum, parents questioned whether the district had considered all its options before choosing to consolidate schools. Some criticized the district's main criteria for closure, saying that the administration should have considered schools' academic success and unique programs instead of focusing on criteria such as declining enrollment and the costs of consolidation.

"If our school is not broken, why fix it?" asked Susan Sveinson, vice president of the Parent-Teacher Association at Erikson, a school that has dramatically increased its standardized test scores since being identified as a low-performing school several years ago.

Parents, teachers and students also repeatedly highlighted what they consider the unique qualities of their schools: Hester's academic success and focus on student achievement, Erikson's diversity and sense of community, and Hammer's status as a magnet Montessori program. While the Montessori program will be transferred to Galarza Elementary and set up as a "school within a school," Hammer parents expressed concern that their younger children will be shut out of the program now that the district has targeted Hammer for enrollment cutbacks in the 2004­05 school year.

Hester and Erikson parents also voiced concerns about their schools' programs, which they worry will disappear altogether as their children transfer to receiving schools.

District officials in turn addressed parents' and teachers' concerns by reviewing the SJUSD's recent history of budget cuts, as well as discussing issues raised in the first public forum on school consolidation on Jan. 29.

The administration stressed that it is exploring a variety of cuts to its 2004­05 budget in addition to school consolidation, including a new health plan that is projected to save $1 million, as well as reductions in central management, local school administration and instructional programs and increased class sizes in summer school.

District financial officers also presented data that showed the effects of drastic reductions in state education funding over the past couple of years. Staff characterized school consolidation as a last-resort solution after hiring freezes and a series of cuts to administration, custodial and maintenance staff, and supply and equipment budgets, as well as other cost-saving measures.

"We certainly did not go to the schools first" to make cuts, said Rosemarie Pottage, the district's finance director. "We went to the schools last."

Addressing parent questions from the first public forum, Superintendent-elect Don Iglesias said that schools were not chosen for consolidation based on their academic achievements, because such criteria would have targeted poorer schools, which tend to have lower scores on standardized tests. In response to parents advocating for schools with special programs, Iglesias stated that schools can often make the same level of academic progress without such programs in place. He added that including academic success and programs as part of the criteria would have ignored the fact that the district is experiencing enrollment declines in only certain areas. Choosing schools strictly on academic criteria could have incurred "significant" costs in transporting students to their new receiving schools, Iglesias said. Hester, Erikson and Hammer will not require additional transportation and administrative costs to consolidate with other schools.

Iglesias noted further that the current proposed plan for consolidation will have a minimal effect on the racial mix at the receiving schools, another key factor for the district, which recently came out from under an 18-year court mandate to desegregate its schools.

District staff promised to keep the community involved as the consolidation process gets underway, including notifying nearby residents about potential lessees for the closed schools' properties and conducting family surveys about organization and planning at newly merged schools.

"We do care—it may not feel that way, but we do," Superintendent Linda Murray said at the close of the forum. "We have to work within our community and do the best we can. Work with us. We care and want to do what's right. ... We will do the best we can to make this work for our children."

The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education will have its first public hearing on the staff's recommendations for school consolidation on Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m., in the boardroom at 855 Lenzen Ave. The board of education will vote on the recommendation for school consolidation on March 4, 6:30 p.m., also at district headquarters.

Members of the public will have the opportunity to speak at both sessions. To obtain a request-to-speak card, contact SJUSD board secretary Phyllis Browning at 408.535.6078.

For more information about SJUSD school consolidation, visit www.sjusd. k12.ca.us.