Once again, district and school staff are scrambling to cope with the prospect of mid-year budget cuts this year and further reductions in 2010/2011 of anywhere from $4.7 to $10 million.

After 7 years of deep cuts to the Redwood City School District (RCSD) budget students next year potentially face:

• Classes of 31 students in all grades
• Reduced school staff, including custodians and vice principals
• Closed libraries
• Elimination of GATE, middle school music, and Selby Lane IB programs
• Fewer psychologists, nurses, and academic support specialists
• No summer school support for struggling students
• 5 fewer days of school

These cuts will come in a year when the target proficiency levels in language arts jump to 67.6 % and in math to 68.5%, as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Our students will be expected to achieve at higher levels even as the support they need to attain these goals is cut out from beneath them.

Basic Budget Facts

The 5 budget words you need to understand:

• Around 40% of the district budget is CATEGORICAL money. This is restricted to things like special education, teaching English to children who speak another language, and academic support programs. This money comes from both the state government and the federal government, and the district has no leeway in how the money is spent.

• The remaining 60% of the budget is the GENERAL FUND, which is used for teacher salaries, the utility bills, and other day-to-day costs.

• REVENUE LIMIT: Every district in the state has a baseline per student amount of funding, called the revenue limit. The revenue limit is set by a formula that was created 1970's which also factors in average daily attendance. The revenue limit is different for each district -- ours is one of the lowest in the county.
  
  The RCSD is a revenue limit district. This means we do not raise enough money from property taxes to reach our revenue limit. The state provides extra money to bring us up to our revenue limit. This makes us heavily dependent on state funding.

• Almost every other school district in our area is a BASIC AID district. This means these communities raise enough money through their property taxes to reach their revenue limit. Anything they raise above their revenue limit, they get to keep. This districts are fully supported by their community, making them less vulnerable to state cutbacks.

• Almost every other school district in our area has a PARCEL TAX that provides additional income for their schools. Because property taxes are held in check as a result of Proposition 13, communities that want to increase education funding turn to a parcel tax. A parcel tax is a special tax that is assessed on each property parcel but is not tied to its appraised value.

The district is required by state law to produce a balanced budget by June 30.

The state budget is historically late every year. The exact reduction in the education budget may not be finalized until August or September.

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The Budget and the RCEF

The RCEF provides programs to children at every school in Redwood City, specifically in the areas of the arts, academic support, wellness, and instruction innovation.

Money the RCEF provides also frees up school parent organizations to focus on seeking funding for programs unique to their schools.

Cuts in staffing levels, programs, and services offered by the district make the enrichment programs currently provided by the RCEF even more critical: in spite of a prolonged economic crisis, our children still benefit from music, Outdoor Education, fitness and nutrition instruction, and access to innovative teaching through our SMART grants.

In addition, the RCEF helps our community understand how the public school system is structured and financed. We have published information explaining these topics, which can be seen on our Publications page as wells as on our Public Education 101 page. We continue to partner with the district, and school and community groups to reach the citizens of Redwood City so they can make informed decisions at the ballot box about education issues.

District budget cuts will likely intensify fundraising efforts at individual schools to make up funding gaps at a time when traditional donors have less to give, which will tighten the supply of money available to the RCEF. In response we are committed to exploring innovative funding streams, finding new partners, and working even harder to meet and exceed our fundraising goal this year.

Although our own budget does not allow us to fund all the programs we want our students to have, our goal is to steadily increase the scope and range of the programs we provide, including restoring music, art, and PE to all grades and supporting academic achievement for all students through supplemental progams and our SMART grants.

Support from our community allows us to make a difference in the lives of our students. With greater contributions of time and money, we could do even more for our children to create a brighter future for us all.

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