Now that the Oakland Unified School District board of directors has approved a controversial plan to close five elementary schools, and implement  a complex restructuring strategy, the transition process for students begins.

However, it's unclear how much this transition will cost the district in the end.

Almost two weeks ago, the school directors decided to  authorize the closure of five elementary sites, effective at the end of the 2011-12 school year: Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe.

In a recent letter to parents, OUSD Superintendent Tony Smith called school closings, "an incredibly painful development.

"We recognize that nothing we say is likely to ease the anger and disappointment it inspires among many in this city," Smith said in the letter. "Yet, we also feel that closing schools is a necessary concession to hard financial realities and an essential step in transforming OUSD into a district built to meet the demands of this day and age, not those of a bygone era."

As part of the transition effort, the district has set up a separate school selection process for students affected by the closures that will take place prior to the traditional enrollment options window. The district said that families will receive in-depth information about supports and services available from a Transitions Coordinator who will be assigned to each school.

In addition, the district has promised to make sure that every effort will be made to insure that students affected by the closure are able to attend the new school of their choice. Still up in the air, however, is meeting the transportation needs of students affected by the closures.

At the last OUSD board of directors meeting, Smith floated the idea of providing shuttle service for students unable to use AC Transit or other modes of public transportation to get new school sites. But, according to officials later on, shuttle service is still a plan being looked at and has not been formalized in any way.

The closing of the elementary schools is but one part of a large restructuring effort. Earlier this month, the district shut down Youth Empowerment School - a small campus in East Oakland.The district also will close three small high schools on the Castlemont High School campus and three small high schools on the Fremont High School campus by summer 2012.

OUSD also has kicked off the development of a plan to expand the grade configuration of Sobrante Park Elementary and Madison Middle School such that, by August 2013, a single school serves students in grades Pre-K through 12.

In 2013, the district said that it expects Kaiser Elementary and Burckhalter Elementary schools to form into a single unit at their current location or an alternate suitable location that will allow for the continued growth of each school's enrollment up to at least 380 students.

OUSD Spokesman Troy Flint said that ultimately, the district will see a $2 million savings from the closures. But he could not say how much it cost to close each school and make sure that adequate transportation is available for all of the students affected by the closures.

"It hasn't been priced out yet," Flint said. "But there are long term savings the district will see because there will be fewer schools that will need to be attended to."

Flint said many of the district's transition team members have been working on issue for the last several months and are familiar with the challenges that come with moving students from one school site to another.
 
One of the major complaints of the school closure effort by the district, is that over the last several years, OUSD has seen almost a continuous trend of closing and opening schools. Last year, it shut down four schools.