A Message from the AUSD Superintendent

Dear Alameda Community Member:

In my October Superintendent’s letter, I was pleased to report that the 2011-2012 school year was off to a great start and also shared these key points with you about the fiscal state of the District: 

• The Measure A funds that our community supported are preserving educational quality in AUSD. 
• We have budgeted conservatively and strictly in accordance with what the community approved in Measure A. 
• Measure A was designed to protect our core.
• Given the great economic uncertainty in Sacramento, we have budgeted prudently in AUSD to provide a buffer locally
• We are committed to public accountability and transparency with all expenditures of our locally funded Measure A dollars.  

As we approach the end of 2011, I want to thank Alameda once again for supporting our students so generously this year. In good times and in hard times, our schools and our community continue to stay strong by working together. As we move into 2012, we will continue to do what the community asked us to do by protecting the core educational priorities specified in Measure A. I am writing to update you on some of that work and to provide information on the budget situation in Sacramento and its effect on AUSD’s fiscal’s condition. 

Earlier this month the California School Board Association honored AUSD’s math initiative with a prestigious Golden Bell Award. The Golden Bell Awards recognize outstanding programs in school districts and county offices of education throughout California. Our math initiative, officially known as the Strategic and Intensive Mathematics Initiative (SIMI), is a highly acclaimed mathematics professional development program that focuses on (1) rigorous mathematics content for teachers and students; (2) collaborative lesson design; (3) full-time mathematics coaching support in the classroom; and (4) analysis of student results to help teachers transform their instruction.  

AUSD has been able to continue this math initiative this school year only because Alameda voters passed Measure A in March. Measure A establishes and funds eleven specific categories, with each category allocated specific funding to protect core educational values in Alameda. One of those categories, programs designed to close the achievement gap, provides critical funding for SIMI.  

We are fortunate to have so many excellent teachers in Alameda who are dedicated to reflecting on their work, collaborating professionally with their colleagues and adapting new ways of teaching to continue to provide the very best education we can for all our students, in this case by helping our students excel in math. Our data support what the Golden Bell Award recognizes:  SIMI’s results have consistently shown improved student performance, a narrowing of the achievement gap in mathematics, and high levels of teacher satisfaction. We are thankful for all the outstanding work and community support it takes to keep this initiative moving forward. 

Turning to a budget update, our updated multi-year budget projections make one thing crystal clear: California’s broken school funding system is the root cause of the budget challenges that we must continue to face together in AUSD.  

The way California’s school finance system "works" these days is extremely complex, but the basic outlines are these: Sacramento cuts funds for school districts, makes additional cuts on top of those cuts and then delays indefinitely the delivery of much of what is left. In addition, the state and federal governments maintain and add unfunded mandates that school districts must pay for without sufficient state and federal funding to do so. As an example of how this system “works,” in 2011 the State applied a “deficit factor” to reduce by more than 19% the already-low amount it was to deliver to AUSD’s general fund and then delayed indefinitely (through a “deferral”) the transfer of more than 38% of even that reduced amount it owed AUSD. As a result, the only way we have been able to keep the district’s “checking account” positive with sufficient cash flow has been by drawing on our reserve and contingency funds, our “savings account.”

The updated multi-year budget projections we presented this week to the Board and community as part of our state-mandated First Interim Budget Report show that we will be able to keep our “checking account” healthy this year and next year, but only by continuing to draw down the reserve in our “savings account.” Measure A is protecting our core programs, but our updated budget projections show that the cuts in Sacramento mean that our “savings account” will be depleted within three years. This is the painful reality of the budget environment we face in California.

We are helping to lead the fight to fix this broken school funding system in Sacramento. You may recall that in 2010 AUSD joined a broad coalition of school districts, organizations and individuals from across the State and filed a historic lawsuit against the State of California, Robles-Wong v. California. The lawsuit, named for one of the four Alameda families in the case along with AUSD, alleges that California’s current education finance system is unconstitutional and seeks a judgment ordering the state to replace the current, broken system with a school finance system that provides all students an equal opportunity to meet the academic goals set by the State.  When the case was filed, Bill Koski, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case, explained that in selecting school districts, “the legal team looked for districts that are well run, managed efficiently and spending their dollars wisely.” 

We have known from the beginning that litigation of this nature is a very long term undertaking, but we remain committed to this effort as it works its way through the courts. In addition to supporting this lawsuit, we have also asked for all in Alameda and across California to join together to advocate now that the Legislature and the Governor provide fair and adequate funding for K-12 education. 

While that fight to fix Sacramento goes on, we must continue to be fiscally conservative to ensure we have a buffer locally to protect us from the bad budget news out there right now for students, school employees and school districts across California. We learned this week that the State will be imposing some mid-year “trigger cuts” to the allocations they will be making to school districts for the current 2011-12 school year. We know the bigger budget news out of Sacramento, including how those mid-year cuts fit into the picture for next year, is still to come next month. In January the Governor will propose his state budget for next year, including his plans to address what analysts are suggesting will be another large deficit for California. 

Once we have that better, full picture of where things stand in January, we will move forward with hope and determination to continue to work positively and cooperatively to resolve our negotiations with our excellent teachers and staff in a way that is fiscally responsible and fair to all and to keep our partnerships with the Alameda community strong. 

Thank you, once again. Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. As always, feel free to email me at kvital@alameda.k12.ca.us or call me at 337-7060.

Sincerely,

Kirsten Vital
Superintendent of Schools

Editor's Note: You can see all the previous letters from the superintendent here. 

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