Voters in a small elementary school district in California can decide next spring whether to open their own high school, or “unify” into a K-12 district, the state board of education has decided.
Students in the 2,000-student Wiseburn district, which serves students in grades K-8 who live in El Segundo in Los Angeles County, now attend high school in the neighboring Centinela Valley Union High School district.
But residents have sought to have their own high school since launching a petition drive in 2001, said Tom Cox, the district’s chief business official.
On Sept. 9, the state board voted to allow residents to decide the issue next spring. Leaders of the 7,500-student Centinela high school district opposed the local vote, arguing that if it passes, the loss of Wiseburn students would drain tax revenues from the district.
