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| |
The
Latest News from the Mill Valley School District
|
Important
Dates
|
June
10 School Board
Meeting, District Office, 6 PM
June
16 School Board
Meeting - Budget Adoption
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| Let's
Celebrate! |
 To
Our Learning Community:
This is a time of great
celebration in all school districts and that is no
different here. In just a couple weeks, students
will celebrate their graduations from Mill Valley Middle
School, fifth grade in their local elementary schools,
and even our enthusiastic Kindergarten students who will
move on to the first grade. We celebrate great
teachers and support staff at our next school board
meeting. Please see the details below.
Kiddo! and PTAs congratulate the hard work of their
leaders who exit and welcome with open arms those taking
on leadership positions next year. Many thanks to
our kids, staff, and parents who deserve the
congratulations. Kids for being great learners;
staff for being great kid supporters; and parents for
supporting your kids and working hand in hand with your
schools and with the District. I know I speak for
our Board of Trustees and our entire staff when I say we
are grateful to work in a learning community that places
such a high value on quality education and the very best
for children.
Sincerely,
Ken
Benny
Superintendent
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| Board
Meeting Highlights |
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At
the June 10th Board Meeting:
- The School Board will
recognize the 2009 recipients of the Golden Bell
Awards. (See recipients list below.)
- Dr. Michele Rollins, Assistant
Superintendent, Business Services will present a
preliminary budget for the 2009-10 school year for
review. Final adoption is scheduled for the June
16th Board meeting.
- The Board will receive and
approve the District's actuarial report valuation of
the retiree health plan under the Government
Accounting Standards Board Statement #45 (GASB 45).
- The Board will
approve the
District's
Facilities Master Plan
At the May 27th
Board Study Session-Facilities Master Plan:
- The School Board
reviewed the final draft of the District's Facilities
Master Plan which includes revisions made in cost
options since the April Study Session. The
Facilities Master Plan Committee was present to answer
questions from the Board and community members about
the overall master planning process.
At the May 13th
School Board Meeting:
- Strawberry Point School
Principal Leslie Thornton presented the school's
annual Site Plan, which outlines goals and
intiatives for the year.
- Middle School Teachers and
TLC.org members Erica Eagle and Lynne Watenpaugh
shared examples of how technology is used in
Middle School curriculum. These presentations
focused on technology will continue throughout
the 2009-10 school year.
- Tamalpais Advisors shared information on
the District's bonding capacity.
|
| State
and School District Budget Frequently Asked Questions |
How
did the state budget passed on February 19, 2009 impact
the Mill Valley School District?
The state budget approved February 19, 2009 decreased
funding for public schools by $8.4 billion. Half of
the reductions are taken from a school district's per
student state funding ("revenue limit") and the
other half from restricted funding. Since the Mill
Valley School District is a Basic
Aid District and derives the major
portion of its funding from local property taxes, we do not
have a revenue limit; hence we do not lose revenue limit
funding. However, we do receive restricted funding and
will lose 15% of funding for programs the state has
identified for cuts, such as School and Library Improvement
Block Grant. The District will lose $107,500 in
restricted revenue this school year and an additional
$34,000 in 2009-10.
Will the District lose any other
funding next year?
Due to the downturn in the real estate
market and the decrease in home sales in Mill Valley, we
will experience a reduction in projected revenue increases
next year. Since 2003 the District has experienced an
average annual increase of property tax revenue of 6-8%.
Over the next three years, we estimate that revenue
increases will be less than 3% annually, resulting in a
reduction of over $1.5 million in anticipated revenue.
With the loss of state funding and
the slowdown in property tax revenues, will the District
have to make program cuts?
The District is fortunate that it will be
able to retain current programs for the 2009-10 school year
and does not plan to have any employee layoffs due to the
loss of funding.
Will the District receive any of the
federal stimulus money approved by Congress and the
President?
We are hopeful that we will receive one-time
Special Education and Title I funding, which supports
students needing the most academic support.
Unfortunately, there are still many unanswered questions and
little clarity from the state (is the state the one
releasing federal funds?) on how and when the funds will be
released to districts. As soon as we receive more
information, we will share it.
How is the District handling greater
than expected enrollment growth?
Every year since 2005, the District has needed to add
additional classes to accommodate enrollment growth,
resulting in significant increases in facilities expense and
compensation expense for teachers, aides and support staff.
To meet this enrollment challenge, the District has added
twelve teaching positions and will add three more this next
year. At an average cost of $80,000 per teacher, this
is a significant addition to our expenses with no
corresponding revenue to offset it. It is only through
the Board's prudent increase in our financial reserves that
we have been enabled to maintain our high quality
educational programs.
Are there more cuts to follow?
It is almost certain that with a new $24
billion hole in the state budget that significant
cuts to all manner of services including K-12
education will occur. At the time of this writing,
there had been no resolution to the state's short term
(or long term) fiscal problems. We are pretty
certain that additional cuts will come to all school
districts, including basic aid districts such as us.
How can parents help or
contribute?
It is critical that our attention remains
focused on the bigger picture as we move through these
challenging times. First, know that the District
will do everything it can to preserve the quality of
instruction in our classrooms and carry out the District's
primary mission and strategic plan. Secondly, our
PTAs and Kiddo! (our school foundation) continue to
support many vital programs in our schools. Parents
can continue to support their outstanding efforts through
their annual donations. The success of Kiddo! and
our PTAs are always critical and even more so in these
challenging financial times.
How can I obtain more information
if I have questions pertaining to the budget?
Please email your questions to Margaret
-Ann O'Connor at moconnor@mvschools.org in
the District Office. You can also check the
District website at www.mvschools.org for
updated information.
|
| Golden
Bell Awards Honor Mill Valley Teachers, Support Staff and
Trustee of the Year |
Mill
Valley School District Teachers Maureen Behrs, Liz
Caroli, Sara Fortine, Maggie Front, Jackie Lalanne
and Jessica Stewart were recognized at the Golden
Bell Education Celebration on May 28th as
"Outstanding Teachers". District Physical
Education teachers Erika Allen and Bain LaPlant
were honored as "Oustanding Support Staff"
for their work on Mill Valley's elementary
Physical Education program. The Golden Bell
Awards are a co-sponsored event by Comcast and
the Marin County Office of Education.
In addition to the awards received by our staff,
our own Trustee Paula
Reynolds was recognized as the Marin County
Trustee of the Year. Comcast has produced
a video recognizing her achievements which can be
viewed on EducationMatters.tv.
The segment is on the June program at about 9
minutes, 30 seconds into the program.
The School Board will recognize teachers and
support staff at the start of the June 10th Board
meeting, shortly after 6 PM.
|
| No
News On Solution to State Fiscal Crisis |
| Even
though we are required to adopt a budget for fiscal year
2009-10 by June 30th, there is no resolution in sight for
the state fiscal crisis and solutions to an increasing
budget hole. While the state provided some
flexibility earlier this year related to how we spend
money received by the state, we are certain there are more
cuts to come as legislators grapple with the most
significant budget crisis in over seventy years.
What does it mean for Mill Valley?
Probably our greatest frustration is that we have
to say to our stakeholders, "we don't know...and we
aren't even confident to say we know when we'll
know!" What we do know is that early in the
fall we will need to conduct a budget revision. As
soon as we have more information, we will surely pass it
along to you. In the meantime we will fulfill our
legal obligation and submit a preliminary budget to the
Board of Trustees this next Wednesday, June 10th for
their review and for final adoption at the final regular
meeting of the year on June 16th.
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