| West Contra Costa Unified School District | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Richmond, California (encompassing Western Contra Costa County)
United States | |
| District information | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | K-12, Alternative Education, Adult Education |
| Established | July 1, 1965[1] |
| Superintendent | Chris Hurst |
| Budget | Revenue: $338,673,000 Expenditures: $425,711,000[2] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 32,197[2] |
| Athletic conference | Jamela Smith-Folds |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD; formerly known as 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.
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. The district website offers a graphical interactive tool for figuring out the boundaries and locations for neighborhood-assignment schools.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5] To decrease expenditures, the district planned to close schools over the following two years.[when?][6]
The district includes, in addition to Richmond: Bayview, East Richmond Heights, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Kensington, Montalvin Manor, North Richmond, Pinole, Rollingwood, San Pablo, and Tara Hills. It also includes the majority of Hercules.[7]
In 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the district for the "decrepit" conditions at Community Day School.[8] The alternative school was reported to have no electricity, heating, or bathrooms in addition to rampant rodent and feline excrement.[8] Furthermore, the roof was leaking, there were insufficient seats or desks for students and mushrooms were found to be growing from the floor.[8] Two-thirds of students were also reported as being chronically truant.[8] It was also noted that there was not usually a math or science teacher available.[8] Students needing to use a bathroom facility needed to be escorted by staff to Gompers Continuation High School.[8] The stated goal of the suit was to improve the learning conditions and available supplies and opportunities for the small school body.[8]
