By ZAC ESTRADA -- JUNE 18, 2011
A 48 percent spike in truant Santa Barbara County students is the result of the District Attorney’s office a partnership with county school districts in 2008 to combat the problem, according to a Grand Jury report issued Friday.
But unless Santa Barbara County’s finances improve significantly, a reinstatement of the program – or even fulfilling a promise DA Joyce Dudley made last year to create a new initiative – is not likely in the cards any time soon.
“The 2010-11 Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury finds the consequences of the delay in implementing a truancy program troubling,” the report states.
Starting in 1997, the DA’s office collaborated with some Santa Barbara County school districts to create the Truancy Intervention and Parent Accountability Program.
But in October 2008, facing a slate of deep cuts, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to stop funding the $166,000 truancy program, countering then-DA Christie Stanley’s pleas.
“How can we in good conscious look at our employees and continue to fund things,” First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal said in an Oct. 15, 2008 Daily Sound article. “At this point it’s like adding insult to injury and I think it would send a terrible message to our employees.”
The Grand Jury reports the program’s elimination directly contributed to the jump in truancy rate averages at Santa Barbara County schools from 27.02 percent in school year 2008-09, to 31.02 percent in 2009-10.
“I can say at this time, though, that while school districts have been extremely concerned about the loss of the county's truancy program, and had shared those concerns with the county when budget dilemmas forced the program to end, the fact is that educational organizations at every level have taken among the hardest hits in cuts from the state,” Wendy Shelton, director of communications for Santa Barbara County Education Office said in an email Friday. “For that reason, it appears extremely unlikely that school organizations would be able to find the resources needed to take over this county responsibility.”
The Grand Jury’s said their two findings were that the only truancy programs in the county today are independently developed and managed by individual schools or districts, but that there is also no federal or state funding for a setup like the old one.
“Every district is going through their own types of hits from cuts from the state,” said Marlin Sumpter, director of student services at Santa Barbara School District. “We all have to look what to do.”
Sumpter couldn’t provide exact figures, but said Santa Barbara School District’s truancy figures were similar to the county’s. He said the district has been making efforts on its own to keep students in class, using slogans like “You miss school, you miss out.”
“There's a lot of truth to that motto,” Sumpter said “It’s important to emphasize there needs to be effort on the part of the parents and students to come to school.”
The DA’s office has 60 days to respond to the findings of the report. The Board of Supervisors, County Education Office and school districts have 90 days.
Shelton said various county education officials would begin meeting next week.
http://www.thedailysound.com/News/061811--SANTA-BARBARA-TRUANCY
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