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Dear Members of the San Rafael City Schools Community:
Where did the summer go?
Last month, we watched as the Governor and the Legislature worked to come to a budget agreement to close California's $26.3 billion deficit. The final agreement, coupled with the previous year's cuts, reduced spending for kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) education by a staggering $18 billion.
As school reopens for 2009-10, we will confront the brutal reality of the budget cuts we had to make to balance the district's budgets. The 2009-10 school year will open with increased class size, reduced support services, reduced administrative support, reduced instructional materials and supplies, and those classroom, site, and district level changes necessitated by the lack of adequate funding.
Without question, our work in the classroom will be even more challenging than in past years. As educators, we must cope with doing even more with less.
Our purpose and our focus remains on the students we serve. As students in San Rafael City Schools enter our classrooms, eager and enthusiastic to learn, our dedicated staff will happily welcome and greet almost 6,000 students (K-12). We expect our district to reach our highest level of student enrollment in approximately 30 years!
The opening of each school year is exciting; for many it means new school clothes, new backpacks and other school supplies, but most importantly a fresh start for students and staff alike. We begin the 2009-10 school year full of hope, promise, and the belief that every student will grow, develop and thrive.
Welcome back, and best of luck,
MIKE
Michael Watenpaugh, Ed.D.
Superintendent
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2009-10 Starting and Ending Times for Schools
Please Note Changes to Some Sites
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Instructional minutes for schools are established by the State Education Code. Based on the required number of instructional minutes, individual school site schedules are developed. Start and end times may differ slightly based on the length of recess, lunch and other breaks.
The Board approved school start and end times for 2009-10 are as follows:
BAHIA VISTA (M, T, Th, F)
Start 8:15 a.m. K-End 1:10 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 2:40 p.m.
COLEMAN
Start 8:45 a.m. K-End 1:40 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 3:07/3:10 p.m.
VENETIA VALLEY
Start 8:10 a.m. K-End 1:00 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 2:30 p.m.
Grades 6-8 End: 2:35 p.m.
GLENWOOD
Start 8:45 a.m. K-End 1:40 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 3:10 p.m.
LAUREL DELL
Start 8:45 a.m. K-End 1:40 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 3:15 p.m.
SAN PEDRO
Start 8:15 a.m. K-End 1:20 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 2:48 p.m.
SUN VALLEY
Start 8:35 a.m. K-End 12:45/1:40 p.m. Grades 1-5 End: 3:00 p.m.
DAVIDSON
Start 7:50 a.m. End: 2:20 p.m.
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Revised 2009-10 State Budget Adopted
A Glimpse of the Impacts
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On July 28, 2009,
Governor Schwarzenegger signed a package of budget bills that helped to
balance the 2009-10 state budget that was $24 billion out of balance.
The Governor stated, "We are not out of troubled waters yet. We are
ready if our revenues drop further to make the necessary cuts to again
live within our means."
You may recall that the Budget Act of
2009 was enacted in February 2009, four months ahead of the
constitutional deadline. As the recession deepened throughout the
spring, state revenues were eroded and put additional pressure on
spending sensitive to economic downturns. The amendments approved by
the Legislature, and signed by the Governor address the $24 billion gap
that resulted from the deepening recession.
Outlined below are some of the details of the approved budget and the known impacts to K-12 education:
· Deficit Factor
The
on-going Revenue Limit Deficit for 2009-10 and beyond is now 18.355%.
This is an increase of 0.4% higher than it had been in the May Revise.
This directly impacts the Elementary School District that is a
"revenue-limit" district. The additional 0.4% equates to
approximately a loss of an additional $30 per ADA.
For the High
School District, a "Basic Aid" funded district, there will be an
additional 1.5% reduction added to the 4.36% "fair share" hit - now
generating a new fair share factor of 5.81%.
District staff has
begun a fiscal analysis of these new additional revenue reductions to
both the Elementary and High School Districts.
· Home to School Transportation
During
budget discussions, there was a proposed hit in Home-to-School
Transportation funding reduction of 65%. The approved reduction will
be 20%. The District plans to operate K-8 Home-to-School
transportation for the 2009-10 school year.
· Instructional Materials Flexibility
The
final agreement includes a three-year extension of the current
suspension of instructional materials purchase requirements, now
through 2012-13. Language was included to prohibit the State Board of
Education from approving any textbook adoptions during the same time
period.
· California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE)
The
final deal rejects the earlier legislative proposal to repeal CAHSEE as
a requirement for high school graduation and limit its administration
to only once per year.
· Flexibility
The
budget continues to help school districts better manage their budget
during these tough economic times by providing relief from a variety of
requirements attached to 42 categorical programs through fiscal year
2012-13, allowing school districts to transfer funds for any purpose to
meet their highest priority needs. No additional local flexibility is
provided in the budget agreement. It does appear that there may still
be an effort to address the issue of additional Class Size Reduction
(CSR) flexibility and/or penalty relief in separate legislation after
the budget has been resolved.
· Quality Education Investment Act
The
budget generates state savings from QEIA by swapping out Proposition 98
settle up funds with federal dollars intended for state level
activities under Title I. This process includes a complex process of
reducing funding to QEIA district revenue limits then backfilling those
dollars with federal dollars. Additional details as they apply to San
Rafael City Schools will be forthcoming.
· Access to Categorical Fund Balances
Authorizes
districts to access prior year balances for the following programs as
of June 30, 2008; Instructional Materials, Targeted Instructional
Improvement Program, California High School Exit Exam, Adult Education,
and Deferred Maintenance. Continues to protect Economic Impact Aid,
Special Education, Home-to-School Transportation, Child Nutrition,
Child Development, and QEIA.
· Cash Deferrals
Due
to state cash flow shortfalls, approximately $2 billion in K-12
payments for 2009-10 will be moved from scheduled payment dates in the
first few months of 2009-10 to December 2009 and January 2010.
We
expect to receive further clarification related to the state budget
amendments and determine the impact to San Rafael City Schools. We
will continue to monitor the information we receive from the state, and
communicate the local impacts.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, September 26th
HeadsUp, the San Rafael City Schools Foundation, in collaboration with Andy's Market, will host "Andy's Summerfest" on Saturday, September 26th. This full day event will include, a family festival during the day, and a live concert during the evening featuring Tommy Castro and Friends!
Look for additional information at your child's school!
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Help Us Keep You Informed!
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Update Contact Information!
As
we prepare for the opening of school, we would like to remind you to
update your personal contact information with your children(s)
school(s). We rely on current phone, address and other pertinent
information to keep you informed.
If your personal contact information has changed, please contact your school office.
Thanks!
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