District
News Archive
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| Important
Financial News from Superintendent Ken Benny
June 16,
2008
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As the
2007-08 school year draws to a close on June 18, students,
parents, teachers and other staff can be extremely proud of all
the good work they have accomplished over the past ten months.
Our students will have finished the year with outstanding
academic results and impressive showcases of their artistic,
musical and other many talents.
For its part, the Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
has also accomplished much this year as they work to continue
improving our educational mission against a backdrop of
challenging financial news. A reduction of $270,000 in education
funding by the State of California, combined with increasing
costs from rising enrollment, forced some difficult budget
decisions on the District. The cuts in state funding accounted
for almost half of the $600,000 in budget reductions that the
Board will have approved on June 17 as part of the District's
2008-09 budget. Although the District avoided laying off
teachers and prevented cuts to core academic programs, the Board
couldn't avoid eliminating some very important non-teaching
positions and making reductions to a variety of vital
educational programs. This marks the second consecutive year the
District has been forced to make reductions. Significantly,
continued enrollment growth and other economic indicators point
toward a growing gap that, without additional resources, will
require even more significant reductions in the 2009-2010
budget.
Educational Partners Help Fill The
2008-09 Funding Gap
Fortunately, the Mill Valley School District was able to avoid
even more serious cuts to academic programs because of the hard
work and generosity of our local educational partners, who
stepped in to help us fill part of the budget shortfall.
Both Kiddo! and individual PTAs rely on contributions from our
parents, who recognize their unique obligation to support our
schools. Indeed, Kiddo! this coming year has committed to
increasing its share and is seeking to raise almost $2 million
to support our schools. All six local PTAs have stepped in
to provide an additional $55,500 to support their individual
school needs, such as basic classroom supplies and materials.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the families, local
businesses and many other community members who support Kiddo!
and the PTAs. But support from Kiddo! and our PTAs can only go
so far. Their contributions can't be used to pay for ongoing
costs such as classroom teacher salaries, which account for the
bulk of the 87 percent of the district budget dedicated to
salaries and benefits.
Financial Need Requires
Parcel Tax Amendment
That's why the Board of Trustees on June 11,
2008, authorized a measure for the November 2008 ballot to amend
our existing parcel tax. The measure would increase the
existing parcel tax by $193 and extend its term for an
additional four years, to 2018. The parcel tax measure addresses
the District's ongoing funding gap. What's more, the measure
ensures the District a reliable source of local revenue for
schools that the State of California can't take away. This
measure would provide ongoing, locally-controlled funding to
preserve existing personnel and programs for the District's high
performing K-8 schools. Without this revenue, the District
will be forced to dramatically reduce staff and programs
beginning in the 2009-10 school year.
The District faces some unique challenges in winning approval of
this measure. Parcel taxes require a two-thirds
super-majority to pass. This becomes particularly
difficult as fewer than 20% of voters in Mill Valley have
children in our district schools. In addition, the
District and School Board are legally restricted in their
ability to advocate for the measure. A campaign committee of
community volunteers has already emerged to promote the measure
and will be contacting parents independently.
Passing this parcel tax amendment will enable the District to
stick to its strategic goals and use the locally-controlled
resources to continue to improve.
I urge you to learn more about this measure and its impacts on
our school district; and please vote in November.
On behalf of the Board and staff, thank you for believing in
the power of education and the support you show for the
children of this community each and every day.
Ken Benny
Superintendent
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