Please help.
It would help if you could pass on this information to people that you know.
If you live in the Sunnyvale or Cupertino districts, please vote yes on measure L&P(Sunnyvale) and O&L(Cupertino) on the upcoming November 2 elections. Following is some information about what these school districts have been facing and will be facing in the future if these measures don't pass. Please pass on the word.
Here's the breakdown.
2002-2003: reduction in force - teachers were fired due to lack of funds. Existing programs offered to students were maintained.
2003-2004: programs were cut (stats, psychology, work experience, sociology, peer counseling, German, teacher cadet, yearbook, cheer)
These were enrichment programs and courses that reached and inspired the "non academic" student. Many students are discouraged or uninspired by the academic core classes, and these other programs like peer counseling, work experience, and teacher cadet allowed this population of students to find their niche and feel connected. For some students, classes like work experience were helping them to graduate from high school.
2004-2005: Enrollment in the district increased by 400 students = $1million needed to fund additional classes needed; No increase in revenue to take care of this need; Teacher salaries cut by 5% and average class size increased by one student (in science it went from 32.5 to 33.5 students. My classes range from 32-36 students. PE classes have an average of about 40 students. In Illinois a class of 27 students is considered big.) 20:1 program for freshman lit and writing I and algebra I cut. This program was put in place to give students some extra attention in their math and writing skills. The lit and writing classes and algebra classes grew from 20 to 29 students.
2005-2006: cut all programs that are not required by the UCs and CSUs?? cut honors and AP courses?? further reductions in force?? shorter school day b/c we can't afford to hold 7 periods of classes?? cut all athletics programs??
The reason why our school district is suffering financially while neighboring schools are doing fine is because the bulk of our funding comes from commercial property taxes which are decreasing in value. So, although residential properties are increasing in value, it isn't enough to offset the decrease in the commercial property values. Some neighboring districts rely mostly on residential property taxes and so revenue for them has increased. Also, we do not get very much money from the state, only $125/student.
We've done everything we can to scrounge up any free penny. We don't have anywhere else to go except to the community if we want to maintain the quality of education that we offer in our school district and that is so coveted by the community. In Cupertino, measure L is a parcel tax measure that will generate $5 million dollars, all of which will go toward maintaining programs for students and anything related to classroom instruction. None of the money goes toward administrator's salaries. Teachers salaries are included as part of classroom instruction because offering competitive salaries keeps and attracts good teachers who will provide a better education for the students. In Cupertino, the measure is asking the community to support education by paying $98/year for each piece of property, just over $8/month. Sunnyvale has put a bond measure on the ballot which asks the community to pay a percantage for every $100,000 of their property value.
What comes to mind when I think of this situation is that it takes a village to raise a child. Schools are part of that village and we need the support of the community to do the best job we can. Please help us.
If you live in the Sunnyvale or Cupertino districts, please vote yes on measure L&P(Sunnyvale) and O&L(Cupertino) on the upcoming November 2 elections. Following is some information about what these school districts have been facing and will be facing in the future if these measures don't pass. Please pass on the word.
Here's the breakdown.
2002-2003: reduction in force - teachers were fired due to lack of funds. Existing programs offered to students were maintained.
2003-2004: programs were cut (stats, psychology, work experience, sociology, peer counseling, German, teacher cadet, yearbook, cheer)
These were enrichment programs and courses that reached and inspired the "non academic" student. Many students are discouraged or uninspired by the academic core classes, and these other programs like peer counseling, work experience, and teacher cadet allowed this population of students to find their niche and feel connected. For some students, classes like work experience were helping them to graduate from high school.
2004-2005: Enrollment in the district increased by 400 students = $1million needed to fund additional classes needed; No increase in revenue to take care of this need; Teacher salaries cut by 5% and average class size increased by one student (in science it went from 32.5 to 33.5 students. My classes range from 32-36 students. PE classes have an average of about 40 students. In Illinois a class of 27 students is considered big.) 20:1 program for freshman lit and writing I and algebra I cut. This program was put in place to give students some extra attention in their math and writing skills. The lit and writing classes and algebra classes grew from 20 to 29 students.
2005-2006: cut all programs that are not required by the UCs and CSUs?? cut honors and AP courses?? further reductions in force?? shorter school day b/c we can't afford to hold 7 periods of classes?? cut all athletics programs??
The reason why our school district is suffering financially while neighboring schools are doing fine is because the bulk of our funding comes from commercial property taxes which are decreasing in value. So, although residential properties are increasing in value, it isn't enough to offset the decrease in the commercial property values. Some neighboring districts rely mostly on residential property taxes and so revenue for them has increased. Also, we do not get very much money from the state, only $125/student.
We've done everything we can to scrounge up any free penny. We don't have anywhere else to go except to the community if we want to maintain the quality of education that we offer in our school district and that is so coveted by the community. In Cupertino, measure L is a parcel tax measure that will generate $5 million dollars, all of which will go toward maintaining programs for students and anything related to classroom instruction. None of the money goes toward administrator's salaries. Teachers salaries are included as part of classroom instruction because offering competitive salaries keeps and attracts good teachers who will provide a better education for the students. In Cupertino, the measure is asking the community to support education by paying $98/year for each piece of property, just over $8/month. Sunnyvale has put a bond measure on the ballot which asks the community to pay a percantage for every $100,000 of their property value.
What comes to mind when I think of this situation is that it takes a village to raise a child. Schools are part of that village and we need the support of the community to do the best job we can. Please help us.
posted by haed at 3:44 PM
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