Barry Jolette - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly ...

Budget Crisis Puts Local Academic Gains at Risk
A message from Jan Christensen
Test scores have risen steadily at the 17 schools
serving K–8 students in the Redwood City School
District. Enrollment is up, attendance is higher
and parents are more involved than ever before.
The Redwood City Education Foundation serves
the Peninsula, and a vast network of community
volunteers support our schools. The district and
members of its staff have received many honors
and awards in recent years.
This should be a golden time for our local schools.
But despite the tremendous progress made
in recent years, our schools now face the most
enormous challenge in several generations due to
our state’s budget crisis. Unfortunately, the programs
and staff positions that led to unprecedented gains
by our students are now being cut — not because
our school board thinks it is a good idea, but
because we simply have no other options.
During my four years as superintendent of the
Redwood City School District, unrestricted state
funding to Redwood City students has dropped by
17 percent, and the situation is expected to worsen
significantly over the next several years. We have
about the same size budget as when I joined the
district in 2006, but we are educating about 1,000
more students. Per-student funding for Redwood
City has dropped from about $5,500 per student in
2007–08 to about $4,700 in 2009–10.
Last year, we increased class sizes, reduced
library hours and eliminated or reduced important
positions and programs. About $5 million in jobs
and programs were saved by federal stimulus
funds. Now those funds have been used up, the
schools will need to make another round of severe
cuts for next year. Few options remain to reduce
the budget.
The district is planning to cut $4.7 million to
$10.6 million next year — about 10 percent to 12
percent of our unrestricted general fund. Cuts that
would have been unthinkable just a few years ago
are now under consideration: increasing all class
sizes in all grades to 31 students, shortening the
school year and reducing or eliminating popular
programs.
The Redwood City School District is not alone
in the budget problems it is facing. The vast
majority of school districts around the state are
considering similar measures, but the pain from
state budget cuts is not affecting all districts
equally. Due to California’s complicated public
school funding system, our district is surrounded
by school districts funded primarily by local
property taxes, while we rely primarily on state
aid for funding.
For example, even before the budget crisis,
the Redwood City School District received less
than half the amount of unrestricted per-student
base funding as a neighboring school district.
In 2007–08, per-student base funding plus local
support totaled under $7,000 per student in
Redwood City, but over $15,000 per student for a
neighboring district. The steep reductions in state
aid have widened the gap in education funding for
two students who may live only a mile apart from
each other. Not only is this a terrible injustice, but
over time it will lower the economic prospects of
all Californians.
Editor’s note: Community members always have the
opportunity to share their priorities and ideas. Jan
Christensen is superintendent of the Redwood City School
District. She can be reached at jchristensen@rcsdk8.net.
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