West Contra Costa Unified School District

The West Contra Costa Unified School District (now WCCUSD, but originally the Richmond School District) is the school district for western Contra Costa County, California. It is based in Richmond, California. In addition to Richmond, the district covers the cities of El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, and Hercules and the unincorporated areas of Bayview-Montalvin Manor, East Richmond Heights, El Sobrante, Kensington, North Richmond, and Tara Hills.

For the Virginia school district, see Richmond Public Schools.
For the Canadian school district, see Richmond School District.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Location
Richmond, California (encompassing Western Contra Costa County)
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesK-12, Alternative Education, Adult Education
EstablishedJuly 1, 1965[1]
SuperintendentMatthew Duffy
BudgetRevenue: $338,673,000
Expenditures: $425,711,000[2]
Students and staff
Students32,197[2]
Other information
Websitewww.wccusd.net

History

The district currently has six neighborhood-assignment high schools, six neighborhood-assignment middle schools, and thirty-six neighborhood-assignment elementary and primary schools along with various continuation and alternative schools. Here is a graphical interactive tool via the District Web site for figuring out the boundaries and locations for neighborhood-assignment schools.

The WCCUSD incurred $42.5 million in debt when the then-named Richmond Unified School District went bankrupt in 1990 under Superintendent Walter Marks and the state, under court order, financed district operations. The bankruptcy affected the credit rating of the City of Richmond, therefore the name was changed. In 1991 the district had to be bailed out by the state.[3] As of Fall 2005, the school district is $7 million in debt. The district has been lobbying IBM to forgive 5 million dollars in debt from obsolete computers purchased in 1989.[4] To decrease expenditures, the district is planning to close schools over the next two years.[5]

ACLU lawsuit

In 2012 the district was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for the "decrepit" conditions at Community Day School.[6] The alternative school was reported to have no electricity, heating, or bathrooms in addition to rampant rodent and feline excrement.[6] Furthermore, the roof was leaking, there were insufficient seats or desks for students and mushrooms were found to be growing from the floor.[6] Two thirds of students were also reported as being chronically truant.[6] It was also noted that there was not usually a math or science teacher available.[6] Students needing to use a bathroom facility must be escorted by staff to Gompers Continuation High School.[6] The stated goal of the suit is to improve the learning conditions and available supplies and opportunities for the small school body.[6]

High schools

Charters

Continuation schools

[7]

  • Greenwood Academy
  • Transition Program Vista Hills
  • Vista High
  • Sierra
  • Alvarado

Middle schools

Charters

K-8 schools

Elementary schools

Charters

Notes
  1. WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT: YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2004
  2. Search for Public School Districts - District Detail for West Contra Costa Unified U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Data from 2004-2005. Accessed on 2007-09-16.
  3. Incumbents do well in Contra Costa, San Francisco Chronicle, 05-11-1997, access date 17-04-2012
  4. Cash-Strapped Richmond Schools Ask IBM To Forgive Debt
  5. Potential W. Contra Costa school closures
  6. ACLU sues West Contra Costa school district over conditions at Richmond alternative school, Robert Rogers, Contra Costa Times, 02-07-2012, access date 03-07-2012
  7. http://www.wccusd.net/cms/lib03/CA01001466/Centricity/domain/24/directories/2016-17%20School%20Directory.pdf

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