Make your voice heard regarding your priorities as
parents!
On Tuesday, June 2, the MDUSD Board of Education will begin
making additional cuts to the 2009/10 school year budget and beyond as a result
of the recent statewide election results and historic state budget shortfall.
After taking into
account the Governor's latest budget cut proposals, as well as the positive impact
of federal stimulus money coming into the district, the district estimates that
it will still need to cut an additional $28 million dollars from the
budget over the next three years.
This comes after the latest severe round of cuts completed
just this past February which eliminated district funding for High School
athletics, middle school librarians, fourth grade instrumental music, and much
more. In total, it is estimated that
from the present school year through 2011/12, the Mt.
Diablo Unified
School district will have lost over
$127 million dollars in educational funding from the State of California.
As this latest round
of necessary cuts now has the potential to greatly impact students directly in
the classroom, we urge you to educate
yourself now on the choices ahead in the coming weeks and to make your voice
heard now regarding how you think our priorities should be set to weather this
severe budget storm.
The latest list of budget cutting ideas and recommendations
are now available by clicking here and viewing the MDUSD June 2nd Agenda. The new budget cuts are listed on pages 71 - 75. The items marked with an asterisk are those that are expected to be recommended for action beginning as soon as June 2!
If you would like an easy to read copy of the budget cuts email us by clicking here and we will them to you asap. Please write "budget" in the subject line.
Among the cuts
recommended by the board are:
* Eliminating all general purpose funding for 5th grade instrumental music
* Reduce funding for art and music equipment and supplies
* Eliminate district contribution to Deferred Maintenance
While all of decisions regarding cuts to educational funding
have still not been finalized at the state level, school districts across the state are required by law to present a plan
for a three year balanced budget to the state no later than this June 30th.
As a result, our Board of Education has no choice but to act now to decide how
to make these cuts to balance the budget. The Board of Education is expected to
finalize these very important decisions over its two meetings of the year: June
2 and June 16.
Please take the time in the next couple of days to look over
the proposed cuts and to personally attend the Board meeting on Tuesday. You
can also participate directly in the process by speaking that evening or
writing to the Board of Education. Here is a link to all Board of Education members' email addresses. http://www.mdusd.org/boe/Pages/default.aspx.
The latest Power point presentation outlining the current budget update can also be found by clicking here.
29.5:1 - Thirty Students to One Teacher!
