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Despite the ongoing fiscal uncertainty at the state level, members of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District on Tuesday gave their unanimous approval to a $215.5 million budget that will keep class sizes stable for another year and maintain the jobs of more than 200 teachers faced with layoffs.
Board members met June 23 to discuss the spending plan which, even with cuts throughout a number of areas, will still outstrip projected revenues by slightly more than 8 percent.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance Gary Black presented the budget to board members, explaining that with so few solid numbers coming from the state, any assumptions they make are little better than speculation. “There are many unanswered questions and many assumptions that we just won’t know for months,” he explained.
The most recent revision of the budget in Sacramento shows funding to SRVUSD reduced by $17.9 million, a loss of roughly $655 per pupil.
One-time federal dollars from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well as the recent approval of Measure C will help offset some of the deficit in the spending plan but the district still will have to take $5.5 million from its reserves in order to fund the budget.
This will leave just over $13 million in reserves for the coming year. Black said of that amount, $6.6 million is the state mandated 3 percent reserve, $2.1 million is listed as the board’s reserve, and the rest is set aside for several different funds.
Under the budget, class sizes for K-3 and ninth-grade math will stay at the 20:1 for the coming school year but are expected to increase to 24:1 in the following year. Of the 240 teachers who received layoff notices in March, all but three part-time positions have been rescinded.
Employee salaries and benefits account for over 80 percent of the school district budget. The newly approved budget carries a $1 million increase for step and column raises for teachers. Conversely, teachers will be asked to take two unpaid furlough days in 2009-10, three in 2010-11 and four in 2011-12. Those concessions have yet to be approved by the California Teachers Union.
The situation remains fluid at the state level, which could be good or bad for the district. Black pointed to a current plan in Sacramento to cut down the $24 billion state deficit by nearly $20 billion. He added that there is word that there could be Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLA) of 0.9 percent in 2009-10 and 2.4 percent in 2010-11 that could also result in some additional revenues to help offset the continuing drain on local coffers.
Black said while they are hopeful of seeing the Cost Of Living Adjustments, they are creating their plans based on a flat revenue stream. “That’s really our best case scenario at this point, hoping to survive on a flat basis.”
We now see that smaller class sizes were never for the kids. They were to keep more teachers employed. It is their salaries and benefits that are robbing our children of the funds. Raise class sizes and fire more inept teachers. Class sizes have consistently been proven to have nothing to do with student performance. In fact, in countries where there are fifty kids per class, such as Japan, the kids do far better than ours here. Back in the fifties, when there were fifty kids per class here, the kids did better. Why? Because there was discipline in the classrooms and the teachers actually knew how to teach, engage.
The mayor of Boston, MA has finally had it with the teacher’s union… it’s somewhat self-serving of him but it *might* be a step in the right direction.
I remain skeptical of the new administration’s education rhetoric, but the NEA/unions have got to be broken:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124605614478863441.html
Be sure to read the comments section as well.
Thankfully with the important passage of Measure C, this community will be able to sustain incredible schools and many incredible teachers that serve our students which in turn will keep property values stable, keep people in employed, and ultimately keep an above average educational experience in our schools.
As our district and our union continue to negotiate alternative ways to cut costs while maintaining the traditional levels of academic performance, we should be very thankful that there are many people who are putting education first and many other agendas second.
Dawn, I think “broken” could be a little harsh. SRVEA has achieved objectives in the past that have ultimately created better schools in our district. Nevertheless, with the onset of a severe budget crisis expected to last well into the next 5 years, no doubt it will need to re-think their objectives regarding education as a whole while at the same time start incorporating the protection on newer teachers who tend to have more up-to-date research and skills that meet the needs of 21st century students as well as the technological skills to challenge them in the 21st century way.
Hi Rick!
Small class sizes are not necessary for the kids. They’re for the self-interests of the teachers. Smaller class sizes means more teachers have to be hired. It has no effect on the discipline and education of the students. We need to stop wasting money on this overglut of teachers, who take the vast majority of money allotted to education. Schools are not daycares. If the kid doesn’t want to learn, he doesn’t have to be there. Discipline, a sense of gratitude for their privilege, that’s what the classrooms need.
Rick, again, you couldn’t be more wrong. But instead of arguing the point I just would like to ask you one question.
To your point “… if the kid doesn’t want to learn, then he doesn’t have to be there.”
If you give any population of high school kids the choice to be in school or not be in school, how would the majority of those kids answer? Most of them could think of several other places to be besides sitting in a classroom.
So then, Rick, my question is: What will you do with all those kids who were given the choice and chose to not be in school under the structure and direction of our education system? How will having a bunch of high school dropouts affect our community? What would that do to our property values, crime rates, standard of living?
Come on Rick, don’t you think its in our best interest to keep kids in school, setting goals, working towards a diploma, working towards higher level education. Isn’t it our responsibility to keep these kids academically motivated?
Yes, we want to keep them motivated. But, you’ve failed at that. And I’m tired of this communist way of thinking that we have to take care of people who show no drive, no discipline. No, it’s absolutely not our responsibility to give them anything but an opportunity. We don’t owe anybody anything but a chance. We don’t have to keep them motivated to properly use a privilege. If they’re not motivated, then their family is not raising their kids properly. That is not the responsibility of those parents who do right by their kids. And earlier I was referring in particular to the kids who cause the most trouble in classes, those couple little jerks that always ruin it for everyone. Those are the ones that you can’t control no matter how small the class. Kick them out, raise class sizes. And you’re wrong teacherman to think that our modern way of approaching schooling, including this coddling manner of saying a kid can’t learn if there’s more than twenty of them in a class, is working. You expect no discipline from the kids, always pandering to the least and laziest, always excusing the behavior on some social ill instead of blaming the student and his family. Then you insist good parents pay through the nose to have these schools that are more daycare centers, and because they must do so much more than they should, the education system is bleeding the average person dry. We don’t owe the dropouts nothing. Believe me, I didn’t like school and I know most kids don’t, but all of those I knew graduated because they knew they needed to be educated. That’s what I mean by having a sense of gratitude and appreciation. The facts are, American students are far behind nations whose classrooms have far more kids. The truth is, students did better in the 1960s, before people, or I should say teachers, got all hung up on class sizes.
SMALLER CLASS SIZES = HIRING MORE TEACHERS
SMALLER CLASS SIZES = TEACHERS’ SELF-INTERESTS
PS: IF you want to protect property values than don’t let murderers into our community via group homes and Section 8 housing. The silent majority is about to put all you moochers, all you swindlers, all you thugs and trash back into line. There’s a new world order on the horizon, and you wasteful traitorous libs are not gonna like it.
HA! Rick, I can always count on a good rant from you! I knew I could get it out of you again. Once again, you have labeled people, provided misinformation, and threatened the general public with your revolutionary jargon. Go find the war paint. We will all laugh at you as you run down the street.
Thanks Rick, you just made my day!
Rick you really need to dial it down. You keep making all these threats and talk about your minions. Please, if and when you come up out of your parents basement you’ll be too blinded by that big shiny thing in the sky to start your revolution. And you’ve threatened over and over to show up at town council meetings. Yet, so far no rick. So please, give it a rest already. No one is impressed.
Also, you keep talking about how kids should have discipline etc in school, yet you described yourself in another post as a discipline problem at school, bored with the curriculum, blah blah blah. So if given a choice you would’ve chosen to not go to school. Guess that means you’d be asking one of those ‘communists’ to help you out since you’d have no education, probably no job in this economy. Wait, we can do what you suggest and deport all those illegals. Then all those kids who choose not to go to school can get to work cleaning people’s houses and mowing their lawns for minimum wage. Brilliant answer, Holmes.
I threatened the special interests who rule and rob the general public through their office or through manipulation. I speak for the people who are overburdened, the so-called general public. And my only threats are change.
I can’t believe how much Rob keeps up with my infinite posts to know that I was a problem at school. But you neglect to mention it’s because the teachers are a bunch of inept jerks who literally hid behind projector screens like five-year-olds and made playful noises to the cute girls. I had teachers that very much appeared to be on acid. These same types would have a particular problem with me, not because I was a bad kid, but semi-rebellious. I used to get the top grades on all my reports, my essays being compared to berkeley grads, but i would get a C in the class because I didn’t submit rough drafts. I would then talk-back in the sense that I would argue my point of how I obviously didn’t need to write a rough, considering that a rough draft is merely intended to ease the process of completing a final project. For this type of attitude I received their wrath in a way that no truly bad student, the ones who cursed at teachers or harassed others, ever did. The teachers hated me because they hated seeing someone who was smarter than their system, because the system panders to the lowest common denominator.
Finally, I am engaging in a petition drive with many people, as soon as I’m done with a few things. Most people in this area have no idea that a 17 year old srvh student was hit-style murdered. I have a feeling I will get a lot of signatures concerning stopping this from happening again. I am patient, and so are my “minions,” who are just like-minded people. We buy guns because we’re tired of innocent kids being shot in the back of the head because libs bring thugs into this community and those thugs think we’re easy pickings. Yet, we who stand against these criminals with force are “threatening.” Rob, your world perspective is obviously twisted. You have emotional AIDS, where you don’t see the inherent problem with importing child-killers into our midst, you misidentify threats, allowing in the dangerous agents and attacking the good cells.
Don’t you fret your little heart. I will come to town council when the time is ripe, when I feel I have enough leverage and publicity to make the demands necessary, and have them truly be considered. You go ahead and stay unimpressed with me until then. I’m sure when we meet I’ll find you quite unimpressive.
Looks like you are doing quite a good job of gaining leverage and publicity through a blog in which you only use your first name and attack people with demeaninng and threatening comments that are bloated with misinformation.
Please, tell me when you are going to make your grand appearance. I really want to be there to see it. Please, Rick! Please announce it right now where and when you will come out of your little hole. I promise to personally welcome you to the light.
You don’t want to do what the curriculum requires, and yet you say all kids need is discipline. Can you eat out of the second mouth while you talk out of your primary? That must be handy. You can’t have it both ways.
Nobody knows a 17 year old was murdered? Wow, that must have been a shock to all the people who attended the poor kid’s funeral. And all those stories in the newspaper probably left that detail out. I can see where that would get confusing. And you really should clarify your terms. A hit style murder is when the victim is shot once in the back of the head. That didn’t happen in this case. Which shows you really don’t know what you’re talking about. But let’s make it as scary and horrifying as we can.
So you’re having a petition drive? Gee, let me guess. Hmmm, Dear Town Council please ask the group home to leave or we will make them leave. I mean, that’s your general riff isn’t it? Do what I want, think what I want, or I’ll make you? But here’s the deal, you don’t really know what you want.
Look at your stance on schools. Big class sizes because the only kids who should be in there are the ones who want to be. But you weren’t one of those. YOu want the kids to have discipline and toe the line. But you didn’t do that and then blamed the teacher because you couldn’t finish the assignment you were given. Oh that’s right, it’s because you were too smart for your idiot teachers who couldn’t possibly teach you anything. But wait, in large class sizes students with higher IQs or lower IQ’s will be forced to work toward the middle. And by your rule, a student who is too smart for the curriculum just needs some discipline.
My head is spinning. No wonder you’re angry all the time.
You’re right, I have read a lot of your threads. I don’t post much, but I read alot. So I know things like that you claim that your only threat is change. And yet you have made threats of violence against a number of people, including the children who live in the group home in Danville and illegal aliens.
Like Teacherman said, when you are ready to have your coming out party, let us know. It will be interesting to see if these big threats and angry rhetoric will come so easy when people can see who is talking.
It appears that there’s an opportunity for direct involvement in the school funding milieu. According to the most recent Danville Weekly online edition, SRV education administrators are currently discussing the oversight of Prop C funds:
http://www.danvilleweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=1722&e=y
While I have posted there asking for clarification of what committee membership would entail, perhaps some of you already know and would be interested in ‘taking it to the streets,’ so to speak, by volunteering for the oversight committee.
Oooh you guys are so tough. You have me quakin’ in my boots. Oh, you’re right. All I do is sit in a basement. Oh, it makes my little heart quiver to think I may actually have to face people in public. Ooooh, so scawy.
I’ve not once accused anyone of being a loser who “sits behind a computer screen” just because they’re my opponents and they happen to be using this particular method (blogging via computer) at the moment. Yet, that’s what all you tough guys have thrown at me and those on my side. Then, you wonder why I get pissed. I’m glad you wanna meet me. You will get your wish.
Rob, you completely missed my point. I’m tired of the classes catering to stupid people who genuinely are bad kids. I was mildly rebellious and could’ve easily been brought into line if the teachers actually considered me worth it, and those like me. But, no, they hated the smart rebellious kid while working the whole class around the morons who called attention to themselves during class all the time. This point is nuanced, which you obviously don’t understand. Also, larger class sizes DO NO have to cater to the middle. No more than smaller class sizes right now have to pander to the bottom, as they do.
Rylan Fuchs was murdered, shot by a little coward who jumped out of the bushes and shot him in the back of the neck, right below the head, so forgive me for not being specific enough.
Rob, you are way too passionate in trying to keep a lid on this child’s murder. And he was murdered. You’re not fooling anyone. The little thug hasn’t been caught yet, because he ran off to Oakland where he belongs, but the little bastard had the nerve to text Rylan’s friends immediately after the murder saying “you play with fire and you’ll get burnt.”
Rob, maybe one day your conscious will actually get to you, knowing that you did all in your power to make sure people didn’t angry over a child’s murder, knowing you did everything you could to demean the tragedy. I hope you feel great about yourself when you try to argue utter lies, such as we don’t know if a murder took place. No, you’re right, Rylan was shot in the back of the neck by a stray bullet. Not even Johnny Cochran would stoop so low as to make the arguments you do. I look very much forward to meeting you rob, such a tough guy in my town who has taken such a passion in toning down children’s murders, and looks upon with such anger and hate people like me who will not tolerate such things.
On a final note, what could I possibly gain from just walking into town council by myself. I need to organize at least a hundred people to storm in there, with media. This takes time, but we are patient. I happen to know through my channels that town council is already talking about me and those like me, who have been making a stink on this blog and through other means. But, our town right now is run by people who don’t care about Rylan. So, we’re gonna make them care.
Rob, Teacherman, why don’t you announce your whole names right now on this blog, if you wanna accuse people of being cowards for not doing so. Why don’t you state where you work, if you wanna accuse me of hiding in a hole, or a basement, when you could just as easily be doing so. And why don’t you tell me when, on the average, you attend town council meetings or where else I might be able to find you.
You two peons are threatened by me because you know this town and whole country is changing. The tea parties are just the beginning. You know that the more people who are not afraid to speak their minds against worthless, traitorous, chest-bumping, stinkin liars like you, the more your little ugly world comes crashing down. We’re not afraid anymore to say we don’t want group homes brought in here if there’s such a significant chance that we’re bringing in child-killers. We’re not afraid to say that teachers are not demigods, above the pale of insult. We’re not afraid to say illegals are sucking this country dry. We’re not afraid to say that, for lack of a better word, “libs” are on the side of the parasites, the destructive, the ugly.
We’re not afraid to carry guns to protect our families and town from little gangbangers.
In summation, kiss my a**
You accuse me of missing your point. I don’t think so. From your perspective you were a ‘smart rebellious kid’ who deserved better than the other kids who ‘called attention to themselves’. But do you think these dumb kids who don’t deserve a break see themselves that way? I doubt it. You chose not to participate and blame the teachers for not catering to you. How would they know what you are or aren’t capable of if you don’t participate or only participate on your own terms. grades have to be given out according to a standard rubric. You chose to not be a part of it.
I like how you enjoy twisting words. I’m pretty sure its willful misinterpretation since you don’t give the impression of being that dense. Here are a few examples.
1. I said no murder occurred. False. I simply said you were trying to make it sound like some mob hit. The Sopranos weren’t in town that day. It was a murder, without question. And it was a terrible tragedy. My points were you keep accusing people of ‘burying the truth’. How are they burying it? Running front page stories in the newspaper? Showing pictures from the funeral all over the news? Your big gripe is they haven’t done a story on the murderer being caught. Newspapers and tv stations derive their income from having people read/watch so if something as huge as an arrest in that murder were to happen it will be all over the news.
2. When did i say teachers are demigods? I’ve had crappy teachers and i’ve had great teachers. I don’t lump them all together because I’m able to see beyond labels. Sorry if you’re not quite able to do that yet. Group homes, illegal immigrants,teachers, chest bumpin’ libs.
3. I’ve never chest bumped anyone. And i’ve voted gop as often as i’ve voted dem. Not that it matters.
4. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. I’m doing it right now. I just don’t agree with you on some things. Which is my right. And if you’d actually posted in a reasonable manner instead of spewing racist hatred we probably could have discussed it, but unfortunately apparently that ship has sailed. You posted in anger, I responded with same. Oh well.
As for why I don’t put my name and where I work on here? Hmmm…let’s see. A guy who has made violent threats and claims to own not one but multiple guns wants to know who I am and where I live. Makes perfect sense. I should post my business card.
I want you to know Rob that I am in no way a threat to you or any other non-violent member of the town, in terms of physical violence. Me and my peeps are trying to protect this town from the violent threats.
PS: I voted for Obama. That must throw a wrench in your trying to label me as someone who judges broadly.
As always, you have one person that focuses on belittling those (teachers, officials) that actually help this community. This is a grand neighborhood; try living in another.
Yep, looks like you are drumming up a lot of support Rick! Can’t wait to be at your coming out party. Let me know when it is!
Oh, I’m so sad I don’t have the support of you three dingleberries. Poor Kevin, you sound so pathetic. And I’ll tell ya, I might have a different tact than a lot of people, but my ideas are most definitely the majority in this area. This town is grand Kevin, no thanks to pansies like you. toodaloo fruitcakes