Quick solution for Fallbrook: Merge the multiple Fallbrook school districts, lay off administrators, and put all the costs savings (which would include benefits, salary, and pension contributions etc.) into the classrooms and athletic programs.

Why do we need a school district and all the overhead which goes with it when there is only one school (and two very small quasi schools)?

When 300 qualified people apply for one open position, something is wrong. Time for the teachers to boot their union thugs and start helping to create a solution other than stealing more money from the taxpayers pockets.

I agree with Don. Why is it so hard for others to see it’s a waste of money to have 2 separate school districts in Fallbrook? Don’t let the issue die out. Many of our students classes are cancelled due to $. We do not have to throw it away on duplicate work. I'm sure there are many qualified people who would love the challenge as being the sole superintendent of the consolidated district.

Don! How dare you go agaianst the Socialist big government beuracracy! Dont you realize its "all for the children"? LOL. (Sarc off) Great idea. It only makes sense to those in the system that directly benefit from it and the politicians their unions pay off, to keep all the rediculous levels of supervisory and administrative overhead from the local level to the federal level. Barely any of the vast resources dumped into the education system actually sees a classroom. Almost never. Teachers buying thier own supplies, all the fees the parents have to sheet on a moments notice for just about everything, seems to me the community itself could fund a private local community school for that money and leave that parasitic system behind to rot on the vine. Teach the kids ourselves, with the teachers we already have, but they have to come over with only enough union bargaining to negotiate salary and pay, thats it. No other union power. No seven levels of overhead. No state or federal intervention. Private, private, PRIVATE. AND Locally controlled. Where parents can come in and sit and see whats being taught to thier kids. Where parent can have an advance copy of the curriculum and syllabus sent to the house in advance, even electronically. Parents would have the say as to what and how and WHO teaches thier kids! Period! Keep the best and brightest, can the useless lazy teachers "on the road". Meaning they only show up because they need to clock enough hours to make thier automatic retirement golden parachute to open on time. The retirement would be no bettter than what our military gets. Same with healthcare. No gold plated plans, and NO TENURE!!!! High level background checks and monthly / random drug screens for every employee that comes on school property. AND an ARMED private security force to keep the kids and staff safe and feeling safe.
Pipe dreams, I know. But if we just did it, and say to heck with anyone that tries to stop us.....who knows how much better off our kids would be!!!

Also might be an idea with the parents consent of course, to do random drug screens on each student. Catch it early, counsel and discipline as needed, and EXPELL every kid that is a repeat offender or suspected of dealing. Uniforms would be required, partially funded by the family, and any replacement due to loss or neglect covered by the student/parents. Tardyness not allowed, if not in the classroom by the time the door closes, the student looses credit for the whole day unless he/she works it off on school grounds hour for hour. Grounds maintenance, washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning and stocking empty classrooms, scrubbing floors, whatever needs done to teach them a lesson in resposibility. I mean to tell you, these kids will leave smart, honest, respected, marketable/ready for college, AND proud! Thats how schools should be run. Set high expectations and standards, privately discipline them, hold them accountable when they fall short; and publicly praise them when they excel. You would not believe what they could achieve! We fail them by providing anything less.

Don - you may be aware that I wrote for the Lakeside Leader before joining the Village News shortly after the rejection of the attempt to turn Lakeside's K-8 district into a K-12 district. During the Lakeside unification debate I wrote a multi-part series, and in one of them I examined the two non-unified systems with a single comprehensive high school. What I heard from both Fallbrook and Julian is that the smaller elementary school districts (Vallecitos
and Spencer Valley, which is in Santa Ysabel) weren't large enough to have their own high school and that unification
would deprive those communities of their local school. On the other hand, prior to Bonsall's unification the last
district to unify was Valley Center, which combined the Valley Center and Pauma elementary school districts to
create the unified high school district.

Consolidation of the two districts would save about $300,000/year, if that. Yes, one superintendent position would be eliminated. Big deal. What folks fail to understand is that all of the support staff and mid-level administrators would still have to remain at both the elementary and high school level to process the voluminous paperwork that is mandated by the state/federal government to INSURE FUNDING to the district and to meet the requirements that keep a district funding. Most folks don't realize the volume of work that an administration performs in order for a district to function. Teachers do not alone run/make a school district. The REAL problem is that the funding mechanism from the State/Fed government is broken and must be fixed. By the way, I am a teacher.

Merge is not a good thing it only cost tax payer more money and copier service

@Consolidation is not the answer- you say funding is the answer
- what, more money to the teachers and teachers union "For the Children"? Thier are many good teachers in Fallbrook HS, but state wide how many are just marking time? With tenure for HS teachers (a device orginally intended to protect college prof. speech) and the strong teachers union kids have taken a back seat. Hire and fire teachers according to ability state wide and I think you would see 1) an improvement in overall education and a more willingness to pay.