Parents urge board to keep at least one Bankroft dual‑immersion class as district holds to five‑year phase‑out

At a packed June 24 meeting, parents, teachers and community members urged the Mount Diablo Unified School District board to reverse or soften a plan to phase the Bankroft two‑way dual immersion (Spanish/English) program to Woodside, saying the January announcement has already eroded teacher retention and disrupted families who chose the district for that program.

"The decision to remove the program on January 28 has severely impacted the quality of this dual immersion program," said Elizabeth Silva, a parent who addressed the board during the public‑comment period. Parents asked trustees to keep at least one kindergarten section at Bankroft to preserve continuity for current students and siblings.

District staff, led by Dr. Agiley, told trustees the recommendation to relocate the program is based on multiple factors. The presentation said this year the two‑way dual immersion program included roughly 67% transfer applicants and 33% district residents, that the program’s enrollment and reclassification trends have been flat or declining, and that the site faces space constraints (staff reported 85 scheduled TK enrollments this year). The district also cited staffing shortages of credentialed bilingual teachers and the presence of under‑enrolled capacity at Woodside as operational reasons to phase the program over five years rather than move it all at once.

Staff emphasized they currently have no plan to add special day classes at Bankroft and said portable classrooms remain in place. They also said they are pursuing residency verification through commercially available tools to confirm placements and noted ongoing appeals and litigation: the California Department of Education denied a uniform‑complaint appeal challenging the district’s process, and a request for a temporary restraining order in Contra Costa Superior Court was denied; the next court date in that matter was scheduled for July 7, 2026.

Many parents described immediate harm. "My son's kindergarten teacher did not come back from maternity leave because of this decision," said Elizabeth Kluik Olivus, speaking of teacher departures she attributes to the phase‑out announcement. Parents and community advocates repeatedly asked the board to carve out a single kindergarten class at Bankroft, reserved for Bankroft residents and the siblings of existing TWWDI students, to limit harm while longer‑term transitions are implemented.

Trustee Lawrence told colleagues he would prefer the district "narrowly keep one dual immersion class at Bankroft" for an additional year if interest and staffing permit. However, district leadership said that adding one class could simply restart the same dispute annually unless a longer‑term staffing and enrollment solution is reached. After discussion, staff stated they would proceed with a five‑year phase‑out plan unless the board gave different direction.

The board did not adopt an emergency policy to retain the program at Bankroft; instead the meeting closed with the district poised to continue the multi‑year transition while monitoring enrollment, staffing and sibling impacts. The district committed to providing additional data and continuing community engagement as the phased move proceeds.

What happens next: the court process in the parents’ complaint will continue in July, and staff said they will continue to update trustees on enrollment, staffing and appeals. Trustees did not take a formal vote to change the phase‑out plan during the June 24 meeting.