| West Contra Costa Unified School District | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Richmond, California (encompassing Western Contra Costa County) United States | |
| District information | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | K-12, Alternative Education, Adult Education |
| Established | July 1, 1965 [1] |
| Superintendent | Chris Hurst |
| Budget | Revenue: $338,673,000 Expenditures: $425,711,000 [2] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 32,197 [2] |
| Athletic conference | Jamela Smith-Folds |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD; formerly known as Richmond School District) is the school district for western Contra Costa County, California. It is based in Richmond, California. In addition to Richmond, the district covers the cities of El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, and Hercules and the unincorporated areas of Bayview-Montalvin Manor, East Richmond Heights, El Sobrante, Kensington, North Richmond, and Tara Hills.
The district currently has six neighborhood-assignment high schools, six neighborhood-assignment middle schools, and thirty-six neighborhood-assignment elementary and primary schools along with various continuation and alternative schools. The district website offers a graphical interactive tool for figuring out the boundaries and locations for neighborhood-assignment schools. [3]
The WCCUSD incurred $42.5 million in debt when the then-named Richmond Unified School District went bankrupt in 1990 under Superintendent Walter Marks and the state, under court order, financed district operations. The bankruptcy affected the credit rating of the City of Richmond, therefore the name was changed. In 1991 the district had to be bailed out by the state. [4] As of Fall 2005, the school district is $7 million in debt. The district has been lobbying IBM to forgive 5 million dollars in debt from obsolete computers purchased in 1989. [5] To decrease expenditures, the district planned to close schools over the following two years.[ when? ] [6]
The district includes, in addition to Richmond: Bayview, East Richmond Heights, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Kensington, Montalvin Manor, North Richmond, Pinole, Rollingwood, San Pablo, and Tara Hills. It also includes the majority of Hercules. [7]
In 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the district for the "decrepit" conditions at Community Day School. [8] The alternative school was reported to have no electricity, heating, or bathrooms in addition to rampant rodent and feline excrement. [8] Furthermore, the roof was leaking, there were insufficient seats or desks for students and mushrooms were found to be growing from the floor. [8] Two-thirds of students were also reported as being chronically truant. [8] It was also noted that there was not usually a math or science teacher available. [8] Students needing to use a bathroom facility needed to be escorted by staff to Gompers Continuation High School. [8] The stated goal of the suit was to improve the learning conditions and available supplies and opportunities for the small school body. [8]
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Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a city council. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region, Richmond borders San Pablo, Albany, El Cerrito and Pinole in addition to the unincorporated communities of North Richmond, Hasford Heights, Kensington, El Sobrante, Bayview-Montalvin Manor, Tara Hills, and East Richmond Heights, and for a short distance San Francisco on Red Rock Island in the San Francisco Bay.
El Cerrito is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 census. El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was incorporated in 1917 as a village with 1,500 residents. As of the census in 2022, there were 25,583 people and 10,637 households in the city.
El Sobrante is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 12,669 at the 2010 census.
Hercules is a city in western Contra Costa County, California. Situated along the coast of San Pablo Bay, it is located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Berkeley, California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The site of Hercules was first developed in 1881 as a manufacturing facility of the California Powder Works for the production of its patented dynamite formulation, Hercules powder. In 1882, the Hercules Powder Company was incorporated and assumed responsibility for the Hercules site. It was one of several explosive manufacturers that were active along the Pinole shoreline in the late 19th to the mid-20th century. The small company town that grew up near the facility subsequently became known as "Hercules", and was incorporated at the end of 1900. Starting in the 1970s, Hercules was heavily redeveloped as suburban bedroom community that lies along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County. It has a very ethnically diverse population.
San Pablo is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. The current Mayor is Patricia Ponce. Currently, the City Council consists of Abel Pineda, Arturo Cruz, Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, and Rita Xavier. Ponce is Mayor, and Cruz, Pabon-Alvarado, and Xavier are Council Members. Dorothy Gantt is the city Clerk. Viviana Toledo is the city Treasurer.
WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County. It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority.
The Richmond Parkway Transit Center, or RPTC, is a park and ride lot and bus terminal located in Richmond, California. It is named after the adjacent Richmond Parkway and serves as a transfer point for WestCAT and AC Transit. The center is situated on the corner of Richmond Parkway and Blume Drive, near the Pinole border and adjacent to Interstate 80 and the Hilltop Plaza shopping center.
Area codes 510 and 341 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) serving much of the East Bay in the U.S. state of California. They cover parts of Contra Costa County and western Alameda County, including the city of Oakland, but excluding Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol.
Richmond Heights, formerly East Richmond and also known as Mira Vista, is a district of eastern Richmond, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Richmond Annex or The Annex is a neighborhood in southeastern Richmond, California. It is mostly residential and located between San Pablo Avenue/El Cerrito to the east, San Francisco Bay to the west, Central Avenue/Cerrito Creek/Albany Hill/Albany/Alameda County to the south, and Potrero Avenue/Pullman to the north. Carlson Boulevard is the main thoroughfare through the annex, connecting downtown Richmond with downtown El Cerrito.
Pinole Valley High School is a high school in Pinole, California, United States, in Contra Costa County. First opened in 1967, the school is part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Pinole Valley High serves grades 9–12, and has approximately 1,200 students from Pinole, northwest Richmond and the unincorporated communities of Bayview, Montalvin Manor and Tara Hills. The school is noted for its girls' basketball team. Coach Dan O'Shea was named "Coach of the Year" in May 2006 by the Oakland Tribune.
Don Víctor Ramón Castro was a Californio ranchero, politician, and businessman. He was one of the largest landowners in Contra Costa and served as a Contra Costa County Supervisor. He operated one of the first ferries in the Bay Area.
Hercules Transit Center is a major commuter hub in the western Contra Costa County city of Hercules, California. It is anchored by WestCAT bus services. The center was originally on San Pablo Avenue. In August 2009, the transit center was relocated to the other side of I-80 with additional paid parking, which is $3/day.
Pinole Creek is a stream in western Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is the governing body for Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region. Members of the Board of supervisors are elected from districts, based on their residence.
Macdonald 80 Shopping Center, or Macdonald 80, is a 200,000 sq. ft. (18,580m³) regional shopping mall in the North & East neighborhood in Richmond, California, anchored by a Target store. The center was largely demolished and rebuilt after suffering from urban decay and blight. It is the only entirely LEED certified mall. It is anchored by a large Target store.
Rancho El Sobrante was a 20,565-acre (83.22 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Contra Costa County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan Jose Castro and Victor Castro. The name refers to a "surplus" in Spanish—the grant's boundaries were determined by the boundaries of the surrounding grants: San Antonio, San Pablo, El Pinole, La Boca de la Cañada del Pinole, Acalanes, and La Laguna de los Palos Colorados. This grant included the area between present day El Sobrante and Orinda.
John Gioia is an American politician. He has served on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in Contra Costa County, California since 1998 and was re-elected three times. He served as chair in 2002, 2006 and 2010. John Gioia is a Democrat. Contra Costa supervisorial seats are non-partisan.
Winds Across the Bay (Winds) was a non-profit youth orchestra founded in 1993 in the East Bay Area city of El Cerrito, California, with the philosophy that "opportunities must be provided to support and encourage youth in the study and love of instrumental music". It was open to middle and high school students who displayed a high-intermediate to advanced musical proficiency in any wind, brass or percussion instrument, as well as a desire to enhance their ability in the instrumental performing arts.
The Giant Powder Company was an explosives manufacturing company which operated from the mid 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Giant Powder Company was the first company in the United States to produce dynamite under an exclusive license from Alfred Nobel.
