Officials are tuning their focus to the Sequoia Union High School District’s radio station in the effort to determine the school system’s future in the broadcast business.
The district Board of Trustees will discuss Wednesday, Oct. 24, the fate of 89.1 KCEA-FM, the low-watt station owned and operated by the school system since 1979.
Officials will ultimately be asked to keep, sell or lease the 100-watt station which still plays big band music from its control center housed at the district office in Redwood City.
For his part, district Trustee Alan Sarver said officials will weigh its monetary and educational value at the upcoming meeting to determine if they wish to keep the station.
“We’ll have the conversation and decide whether there is really enough likelihood for real value to our student population in a way that is worth leveraging before we give up on it,” he said.
The low-power station has been owned and operated by the school district on the portion of the FM spectrum reserved for nonprofit organizations. It currently runs automated music programming, barring periodic sports broadcasts or student productions.
For nearly four decades, the station was located at the Menlo-Atherton High School campus, before its relocation to the district’s electric maintenance shop in 2016. Following a board discussion in June, trustees directed administration and a public media consultant to examine ways to reintroduce the channel into the district’s career technical education programming.
From that direction, those charged with offering guidance crafted three options — establish the station as a vibrant asset for students and beef up its usefulness, lease the license it to another nonprofit or sell the station, equipment and music collection for an estimated sum of between $300,000 or $1.2 million, according to a district report.
For his part, Sarver suggested officials are not yet committed to taking any direction with the station.
“I think we’ll have an open conversation. I honestly have no idea which way we’ll end up being swayed and voting,” he said.
The high school district is the second local school system to recently decide the fate of its broadcast asset, as the San Mateo Community College District Board of Trustees recently agreed to sell its KCSM-TV station.
College district officials earlier this year approved selling the television station to a public broadcaster in Santa Rosa for $11.5 million. The decision followed a botched attempt to sell the channel through an $114 million auction, which led to counter lawsuits filed by the district and a consultant hired to facilitate the auction sale. The case is still making its way through the courts.
For the high school district, Sarver said a critical decision will be whether a terrestrial radio station which is falling out of favor with a younger generation of students can still serve to help build modern skills.
He suggested the station could help students hone their podcasting abilities, or further enhance the digital arts programming offered throughout the district. He balanced those recommendations though against a recognition that the station may simply be too antiquated to justify the investment required to make it more vibrant.
“I think the sense is that it is a primarily older resource that has brought value over the years, but it seems to be fading and harder to see the value in it,” he said. “If we can see our way to providing meaningful student value, then we’ll pursue it. And if we can’t, we’ll wave a fond farewell and turn the page.”
The Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees meets 6 p.m., in the district office, 480 James Ave., Redwood City.
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“I think the sense is that it is a primarily older resource that has brought value over the years, but it seems to be fading and harder to see the value in it,” he said. “If we can see our way to providing meaningful student value, then we’ll pursue it. And if we can’t, we’ll wave a fond farewell and turn the page.
"Meaningful student value" . This is a management problem. Has nothing to do with the value of the asset and the reality of training in audio storytelling and entertainment. Your district has a legacy media asset that other education interests have never been able to achieve. They would KILL to have a station that can be heard in the cars of Atherton CA residents. It was built on the backs of MA alumni who went on to national positions in media. This is remarkable and you should not allow it to be swept away. Commercial radio continues to be the #1 reach medium in America in 2018, and "legacy" media careers are hot. Radio's new role in the media universe is to entertain the full-time employee on the job. Sarver may not know latest data on what is happening for careers in the media world. Sequoia District should be proud of the careers it launched with KCEA. Should the programming change to create more value? Yes, in my opinion. Get rid of the big band stuff that enabled you to get outside donations. These kids your serve don't care about big band music. Instead you should allow the students to program this station, and create career paths that resulted in positive and fruitful national coverage of your asset. That's what they used to do when KCEA produced incredible talent. One of the reasons Menlo Atherton was the place to transfer to, in the Sequoia District, was KCEA. That school sent countless number of alumni to media programs at top universities because their applications contained proof of their talent as exhibited on KCEA.
Remember. This is your mission. Education isn't a profit center. It is an investment.
Congratulations on your past success in educating the media pros of tomorrow. Keep it going. Fix KCEA. Don't throw it away.
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