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The city gov. and the towns folks are always fighting over this one! You can look at the Davis City Gov page and get an idea of the struggle also the local paper Davis enterprise is a good source for both growth and school budget cuts.
City of Davis California Official Homepage - City of Davis (http://www.city.davis.ca.us/ - broken link)
Local writer Bob Dunning has some pretty funny but true Davis issues from a towny point of view. He has a column in the enterprise.
You are very welcome, I want to clearly state that it is a good town for younger kids. When I read my own stuff here like this it sounds like there is not much to like, there are good things about Davis, I am just trying to point out the harder stuff as a mom of teens in this area.
All my best to you! Please don't hesitate to ask or send me an email!
They just opened a new high school that is a bit more progressive like a charter school it is located in the main high school campus.
It opened about 4 years ago. My son goes there - Da Vinci High - it's a New Tech Foundation school. It's part of the public school system. The kids take 4 core courses per year at DVHS, but can take anything else they want at Davis High School. Da Vinci is a fantastic school. My son is graduating this June and has never missed a day of school there except when he's been on a school-sponsored trip. He truly loves going there, and the project-oriented teaching methods really engage the kids and teach them critical thinking skills, instead of training them to become what I call "perfect parrots."
I agree about the high-priced, blah housing. You don't move here for the houses, you move here for the schools and community. Or your job at UCD.
The high home values in Davis have prevented new families or families that rent from moving/buying to/in Davis, hence the declining enrollment in schools. It's no secret that Davis has THE best schools in the area, if not the state. But why is there declining enrollment at the best schools in the area? Just goes to show that new families or families that rent are shying away from/moving out of Davis. I've rented in Davis for about 10yrs now (undergrad and grad student). I'm recently married and we're ready to start a family. We bought a new home in Woodland at half the price of a comp in Davis (7mi north of where we are) and will move there in the fall. The new development that we bought in has many current Davis residents waiting for their homes to be built as well. There's one couple we met in the builder's office that practically has knowledge of all current Davis residents and a map of where their new homes are going up. I know that hardcore Davis residents will give me a list of cons for moving to Woodland, and that home prices are lower for a reason. After being here for 10years, having worked with students of various age groups, the cons that Davis citizens give for Woodland hold true for Davis as well (in my opinion).
Here are some dollar amounts in looming budget cuts:
Woodland: $1.7M (scheduled to build more schools in the Springlake development, but who knows what will happen)
Davis: $4M (already closed one school)
Dixon: $1.3M (considering closing one school)
Here are some dollar amounts in looming budget cuts:
Woodland: $1.7M (scheduled to build more schools in the Springlake development, but who knows what will happen)
Davis: $4M (already closed one school)
Dixon: $1.3M (considering closing one school)
Yeah, the city promised years ago to build two new elementary schools (Koremitsu and Montgomery), then declining enrollments caused them to have to close one of the older ones. That was because the older neighborhood where Valley Oak is located did not have enough families with young kids to support a school there anymore. They opened a third Jr. High several years ago and that may turn out to have been a mistake, too. The city mistook the "echo boomers" (my generation's kids) and a temporary influx when they were still building out for a steadily increasing student population. That combined with the difficulty of new families affording homes here gave them a double whammy.
Woodland schools are not that bad. I have a friend who teaches at the newer high school (beautiful facility, my son took his AP tests there last spring) and she seems fairly positive about the school system. Their music programs aren't nearly as good - DHS was named one of fewer than two dozen US schools as a Grammy Foundation Signature School - but I can imagine their sports teams are a lot better.
It's understandable that a young family would locate there instead of Davis. One thing that would worry me, though, is that with the high number of foreclosures and steeply falling house prices in Woodland, there may be some serious property tax revenue issues looming. The school budget cuts are from state, not local, money.
Woodland schools are not that bad. I have a friend who teaches at the newer high school (beautiful facility, my son took his AP tests there last spring) and she seems fairly positive about the school system.
Well, she and I clearly have different ideas about decent schools. Out of curiosity I did a search, and found this report on the new high school on the east side of town...it has a very high dropout and attendance rate, and a very low percentage of students who go on to 4-year colleges - only 25%. Only half the students complete the requirements for entrance into the UC/CSU system, which are pretty minimal, IMO, compared to what I had to take in Maryland in the early 1970s. The report also would not reveal the API, it just mentions that it improved 22 points and that it needs to improve further, but wouldn't state what it is. (I found it on a different site - 693.)
Great feedback angelbug. The Woodland high schools were something we were worried about. However, when it comes down to it, it's the parents, not the schools that have the most influence on the child's education. We're also hoping that when our kids attend highschool (we don't have any yet), that would be ample time for the city to really fix their school system (or at least try to get it at par). With what seems like an influx of Davis residents to Woodland, we hope that that would play a role in Woodland's schools improving.
As for foreclosures, Woodland definitely wasn't immune. However, I don't think it's anywhere near Natoms, Elk Grove, Stockton, etc. If you look at the new homes in Springlake, they've priced their homes close to 2002 prices ($140/sqft). Of course, it would also drop to 2000 prices, but from what I've seen, they're selling. In fact, they recently had to hold a lottery for the March release.
Pardon my ignorance and I definitely appreciate any education on this, but I do anticipate property tax revenue to decline (as it is all over California), but with the new Costco, larger Target, and other stores in the Woodland Gateway (Rd 102 and I5), sales tax revenue should increase. Also, I read somewhere that Woodland will be receiving 100% of the sales tax revenue from the Woodland Gateway.
Davis is a neat town, UC Davis is a big "ag" school.
It can be hot in the summer and dusty but there are plenty of open spaces and while it is flat in the immediate vicinity if you go west a bit toward the hills you find neat towns that are still more or less they way they've always been, quite rural California towns.
Driving to Sac....not too bad ...but that stretch of 80 can be nutty....depends on the time of day and all that....
Like I've mentioned in other posts though....go out and look at the specific location that you are moving to....Check it out at different times of day....and different days of the week....If you don't get a good 'vibe'.....you might want to try a different area of town....Do your homework...read the police blotters etc...Be safe!
Great feedback angelbug. The Woodland high schools were something we were worried about. However, when it comes down to it, it's the parents, not the schools that have the most influence on the child's education. We're also hoping that when our kids attend highschool (we don't have any yet), that would be ample time for the city to really fix their school system (or at least try to get it at par). With what seems like an influx of Davis residents to Woodland, we hope that that would play a role in Woodland's schools improving.
Definitely, it's the parental involvement. Part of the reason that kids in more affluent areas do better is economic, but part of it is expectations and parental involvement. You're right, the high school has plenty of time to undergo changes, and it likely will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aggiealum
As for foreclosures, Woodland definitely wasn't immune. However, I don't think it's anywhere near Natoms, Elk Grove, Stockton, etc. If you look at the new homes in Springlake, they've priced their homes close to 2002 prices ($140/sqft). Of course, it would also drop to 2000 prices, but from what I've seen, they're selling. In fact, they recently had to hold a lottery for the March release.
No, it's not like Sac county, but I have a couple realtor friends who told me Woodland has gotten hammered compared to Davis. But since you plan to stay put for quite awhile, all that won't matter much long term, and it's helping you buy at a better price than you would have a couple years ago, if they've had to lower their prices in Springlake.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aggiealum
Pardon my ignorance and I definitely appreciate any education on this, but I do anticipate property tax revenue to decline (as it is all over California), but with the new Costco, larger Target, and other stores in the Woodland Gateway (Rd 102 and I5), sales tax revenue should increase. Also, I read somewhere that Woodland will be receiving 100% of the sales tax revenue from the Woodland Gateway.
Yep, that's where Davis has been exceedingly short-sighted, IMO. A lot of my sales tax dollars go to Woodland. We're getting a Target, but it only passed the vote by less than one percent, and has to be LEED-certified and have a bunch of trees in the parking lot, which is just going to make it hard to keep your car clean when you park under them. I understand the desire to keep Davis small with little independent businesses, but I think it's kind of hypocritical to promote green living and then make yourselves have to drive 10-15 miles to buy anything.
When I was in high school, it was the (sad) hidden joke that the best parties with the most alcohol were the ones thrown by the D.A.R.E. club. Not kidding. Yes, drugs are VERY available, mainly because there are tons of college parties all over town that have no problem including high school kids.
Racial tension is really weird in the school system. On one hand, the district does promote diversity. You graduate thinking that you are open to other races. But you quickly find out in the real world that you had no idea what the heck you were talking about. It is one thing to say you are open. It is another thing to realize that having only 5 African American students in your graduating class does not make your community diverse (no exaggeration). To me it seems that every ten years or so a really strangely violent racial incident happens at Davis High.
The education cuts are happening across the state; Davis is not unique in that. Declining enrollment has crept up on them over the years, and yes, it is definitely because their projections were off and no one can afford to have a family there. When a professor's starting salary is in the high $40s, you start to get the picture. It's really sad. I wish the city would do more in terms of housing.
Davis High had a long history of promoting their 0% dropout rate. This was accomplished by sending all academically questionable students to a continuation school which was a complete joke in terms of academic quality. Students who attended there told me that for some assignments, such as reading a book, they would be asked to draw a picture about the assignment. I'm not joking. Since 1997 the dropout rate has begun to increase, which is fine because it was reduced, I believe, by artificial methods that did not support struggling students.
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I understand the desire to keep Davis small with little independent businesses, but I think it's kind of hypocritical to promote green living and then make yourselves have to drive 10-15 miles to buy anything. 
