Superintendent’s Message - June 2007

The word is out!  The Mill Valley School District offers an excellent kindergarten through eighth grade education for its 2,330 students - soon to be 2,428 students for the 2007-2008 school year! 

This year, student enrollment grew for the second consecutive year.  We expect continued growth next year, which will be an unprecedented enrollment increase in our District. In three short years, spanning 2006 to 2008, we will have added eleven classrooms, the size of a small school.  If growth continues at its current rate, we will add as many as eleven more classrooms in the next five years.  The anticipated projected growth is attributed to smaller exiting eighth-grade classes and very large entering kindergarten classes.  Our projected kindergarten enrollment for 2007-2008 is over 330 students, up from an earlier projection of 287.  We have not seen such a large class in recent history.

The good news is that people want to come to Mill Valley and enroll their children in the school district.  This is fantastic!  However, there is sobering news along with the good news.  Our District, because of its basic aid status, receives no additional funds from the state for additional students.  While basic aid is a good thing for the funds it generates, enrollment growth is a negative factor that can have a significant adverse effect on a basic aid school district’s operating budget.  Additionally, property tax revenues, our primary funding source as a basic aid district, have softened.  These two factors taken together have created a perfect storm that threatens excellent programs in a high performing District such as ours.

Given that perfect storm, we have used most of our additional funds to keep pace with enrollment by hiring great teachers and support staff; and providing cost of living increases to our employees.  We anticipate a $500,000 operating deficit for the next two years, even before any additional cost of living compensation for our staff is added.  We also are observing an erosion of our financial reserves, a necessary and important part of any budget as unexpected fiscal challenges emerge.  Add to these challenges a need for additional space to house students and to make improvements to our existing facilities and it doesn’t take long to see that our anticipated revenue will not be able to keep pace with normal operating expenses.   We must either make budget cuts or increase revenues.

One might approach this difficult financial dilemma with a fair amount of pessimism, but people in Mill Valley are ‘solution finders.’   There is also a long-standing value placed upon quality education for all kids.  These are two ingredients that can create a potent force to work through these financial challenges so the students who attend our schools continue to have the exemplary education that attracts so many families to this community.

As we come to the close of the 2006-2007 school year, there will be celebrations for our graduating eighth graders.  Our fifth graders will celebrate their move to the middle school, and our young kindergarteners will get ready for a new year in first grade.  Our students and families will enjoy all sorts of summer events and our dedicated staff will get a much deserved break before greeting your children with open arms in the fall.   Whatever summer has in store for you, please keep focused on the road ahead, one that will require your help as we work through these challenging financial times.  Please look for additional updates on the District’s financial health once students return to school in the fall. I am absolutely confident that the ‘solution finders’ of Mill Valley will work as partners with us for continued educational success.

On behalf of our Board of Trustees and our entire staff, thanks for another great year of support for all kids in Mill Valley .

Ken Benny

Superintendent