State Kills Mt. Diablo Unified Secession Plan

The California Board of Educated has quashed a secession proposal that would have carved up the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD). 

In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the board denied Northgate CAPS’ petition to turn five MDUSD schools into a new district called Northgate Unified. The vote settles a yearslong debate.

The CDE said the proposal ultimately failed to meet legal criteria and that there was no compelling reason to create the new district. A spokesperson for the CDE criticized the plan for what she called “undertones of racial and socioeconomic segregation." 

Northgate CAPS spokeswoman Linda Loza countered that MDUSD has suffered financial mismanagement for years, and that this was a fight for local control and community-based schooling.

MDUSD was vehemently opposed to the secession plan. One teacher who spoke with KTVU rejoiced at the board’s decision, saying it would have resulted in racial and socioeconomic segregation, whether intentionally or not.