In short
People often repeat claims about the district. We check each one against the record. Each gets one verdict: true, partly true, not supported, or can’t be checked yet. Each links to a page with the sources.
Related: closure savings · academic claims · closure figures · staffing
How we pick a verdict
Each claim gets one verdict: true, partly true, not supported or can’t be checked yet.
- True: the district’s own records match the claim.
- Partly true: some of it matches, some does not.
- Not supported: the records point the other way, or the number describes something else.
- Can’t be checked yet: no public record answers it. That does not mean the claim is false.
We use the district’s board packets, minutes and audits first, then state data.
| Claim | Verdict | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Closing a school saves $2 million | Not supported for one school | closure savings |
| IB costs very little | A district review put it at about $511,000 a year (two campuses) | academic claims |
| IB cuts got their own board vote | Not supported: they passed inside the yearly budget votes | academic claims |
| About 90% fail the new math test | Can’t be checked yet | academic claims |
| Admin growth is driving the deficit | Partly true: central office grew fastest, but it is about 34 staff with total pay of about $4.9 million a year | staffing |
A note on fairness
A claim can be wrong and still point at a real issue. The $2 million closure figure was real, but it was for several schools, not one.1 We try to say what a number does describe, not just that a claim is off.
The other side
- A claim marked wrong can still point to a real concern. We check the fact, not the motive of the person who said it.
- We have not seen every district record. We update a verdict when new records come in.
Questions to ask
- Where does the district post the records these claims depend on?
- How can the public ask the district for a record that is not posted?
Changes to this page
- Nov. 2, 2026: Reworded two hedges.
- Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
What you can do or watch next
- Send a claim you want checked through ask a question.
- See corrections for verdicts we changed.
What we still don’t know
- Some claims wait on records the district hasn’t published, like math pass rates. We will update the verdict if they appear.
We don’t name people who raised a claim. See How we check facts.
See also relocation elementary, health fund 7m and next bond size.
Footnotes
-
Board packet, May 29, 2025, p.105 (Faubion $1,401,800); Dec. 11, 2025 scenario slide, thresholds about $2.0 million for several schools. May 29 p.105; Dec. 11 p.225. ↩