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RCSD Corner: News From the Redwood City School District
Redwood City Community Comes Together to Work for Change
Faced with another round of school budget cuts,
hundreds if not thousands of students, parents,
teachers, school principals, district administrators
and school board members gathered before school
early one morning in March to raise awareness of
the challenges facing the 17 elementary schools in
Redwood City.
“We were just so overwhelmed by the turnout
and energy at the rallies,” said Kay Louie, a Roy
Cloud and North Star parent who organized
the rallies districtwide along with Rick Hunter,
Redwood City Education Foundation (RCEF)
board member and North Star parent. “To see
everyone coming together across the district
in this way is incredibly amazing. The rallies
were brought about because of challenging
circumstances but after today’s show of support,
we strongly believe that we can harness this
energy to take action against the crisis we’re up
against.”
The districtwide rallies were organized in
less than a week’s time, with the first parent
organizing meeting held the evening of Feb. 25.
By the following Monday, Louie and Hunter
had been in touch with parents or staff at every
school, and by that Wednesday, every school had
some sort of event planned.
About 600 students, parents and staff from
Hawes and Roosevelt schools marched up and
down Roosevelt Avenue, passing each other along
the way. At Roy Cloud School, 400–600 students,
staff and parents brought in their homemade
banners and signs and marched around the school
on Jefferson Avenue and Emerald Hill Road. At
Taft Community School, students, parents and
staff had wall-to-wall signs and chanted “Save
our schools, save our students.” The Henry Ford
School community waved fliers as they walked
down Massachusetts Avenue to Woodside Road
and back. Garfield, Fair Oaks, Clifford and
Hoover attracted honks of support from cars
passing by as they rallied in the neighborhoods
surrounding their schools. North Star, McKinley
and Newcomer Academy teamed up to march on
El Camino across from Sequoia Station.
At Orion School, about 150 children, teachers
and parents got together and marched around
the school block. People chanted and sang as
they marched. Many carried signs asking state
legislators to save our schools by providing the
funds necessary to educate students.
“It was very motivating to see parents and
students actively involved in the democratic
process,” said School Board President Dennis
McBride, who marched from Hawes to Roosevelt.
“Our best hope for change is a grassroots
movement that comes from parents. The rallies
were a fabulous civics lesson for students, too.”
The Redwood City School District has cut
about $10 million over the last seven years and
expects to cut approximately $5 million to $10
million again next year from its approximately
$78 million budget. The district’s unrestricted
budget has decreased by 17 percent in the last
three years. The 2009–10 budget is about the
same size as the budget in the 2006–07 school
year, even though the district is educating 1,000
more students.
Class sizes for K–3 students increased in
2009–10, critical programs and positions were
eliminated or reduced, and the district had to
lay off staff in the middle of the year. Next year
class sizes in Redwood City could increase to
31 or more, the school year could be shortened,
instrumental music programs may be cut and
school libraries may close as a result of the
massive budget cuts facing the school district.
If you would like to learn more, the district has
posted extensive information about the budget
situation on its Web site. You can access that
information at www.rcsd.k12.ca.us/budget2010.
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