We’re in for Some Tough Times, But We’ll Get Through It
Right now, school district superintendents throughout California are working with their employees and communities to create contingency plans for the 2020-21 school year. We are doing our best to figure out how to provide robust learning while maintaining the health and safety of staff and students. Staff and student wellbeing are always our first priority.
In the coming weeks, the California Department of Education has promised to publish school reopening guidelines; hopefully, this will be helpful. At Kelseyville Unified School District (KVUSD), we will spend the summer developing a plan to reopen school in September, and we’ll share that plan with the community no later than August 15. Please take time to complete any surveys you receive from the district between now and August. This will help us finalize the reopening plan. As most of you know, school facilities were not developed with social distancing in mind, so school may look very different next year.
To complicate things, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a 10 percent cut to Local Control Funding Formula funds for all California school districts. In plain English, this means across-the-board reductions to our general fund. Because of the COVID-19 shut-down, tax revenue in California has plummeted. This is revenue we depend on to run our schools, especially in Kelseyville where we do not have additional local tax revenue to augment state funding.
Basically, as we’re trying to develop creative solutions to keep everyone safe during a pandemic, we are also being asked to reduce approximately $1.7 million from an already tight budget. This is especially frustrating when, before the pandemic, we were on the way to having a 10 percent financial reserve in two years.
I encourage those who are interested to contact your local representatives and let them know you’re concerned about cuts to education.
State Senator Mike McGuire
(707) 468-8914, senator.mcguire@sen.ca.gov
200 South School Street, Suite K, Ukiah, CA 95482
State Representative Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
(707) 224-0440
2721 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa, CA 94558
Federal Representative Mike Thompson
(707) 226-9898
2721 Napa Valley Corporate Dr., Napa, CA 94558
At the special KVUSD School Board meeting on June 2, I will propose reductions in the 2020-21 budget, doing what I can to minimize staff lay-offs and negative effects on the classroom. This will be difficult since 90 percent of our budget is in staff salaries and benefits. However, if we do not balance our budget, the state will come in and do it for us.
As hard as all of this is, and it is hard, I know we’ll get through this together. One of the things I value the most is helping our students grow into their potential by providing them with a solid educational foundation, along with the self-esteem and work ethic to be successful. All of us at KVUSD are pursuing this for each one of our students. We will stick with our motto: “Where Students Come First.”
I know we are all feeling a lot of fear and uncertainty. These emotions are hard to live with, but I expect they will be our constant companions for the next few years. Unless the economy comes roaring back, difficult financial times are likely to endure, and we will continually be asked to do more with less.
Although I wish this were not the case, I have to tell you there is not another group of employees I’d rather be in this with. At KVUSD, we have teachers and support staff who are not only great at their jobs, they’re great people. The same goes for the Kelseyville community. We will help each other like we always do.
Together, we’ll support each other and our students. And eventually, things will get better. In the meantime, let’s all stay calm and carry on as we walk through this together, step by step.