Superintendent Letter April 2011

Thank you again to the thousands of Alamedans from all walks of life who came together to pass Measure A on March 8. With Measure A, Alameda is continuing to support the success of our students and also the current and future success of our entire community. On behalf of the students, teachers and AUSD employees, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. The hard work and dedication of all who worked on the campaign for Measure A will help us maintain small class sizes, ensure we continue to attract and keep the very best teachers, give our students the sports, music and art programs they love and count on, and protect the core academic programs that prepare our children for a successful future.

Given the state of education funding in California and ongoing budget battles in Sacramento, we all understand that this is not going to be an easy road, even with the passage of Measure A. We have known and said all along that there will still be some cuts to our schools, even with Measure A. The unfortunate reality is that there is no way to know exactly what AUSD’s total financial picture will be for 2011-2012 until the State adopts a budget for the 2011-2012 school year. We hope the State will meet its deadline and adopt a budget on time in June, but we know from past experience that the state budget fight in Sacramento may stretch into the summer or beyond. Whatever the end result of this year’s State budget in Sacramento, we do know that the level cuts we will face in Alameda will pale in comparison to the devastation we would have faced without your generosity, commitment, and hard work to pass Measure A. With Measure A, we are making great strides toward a future in which our schools can focus on teaching and learning, not school closures and program cuts.

At the school board meeting Tuesday night, AUSD staff brought additional detail on the precise funding allocations for the specific educational programs that will be supported through Measure A. This information can be found on our district’s website, on the Board of Education page. Those programs funded by Measure A reflect the core values and highest priorities of Alameda, consistent with the community conversations of last summer and fall. As part of the ongoing process of finalizing a budget for the 2011-2012 school year, the Board of Education will review and approve specifics for the programs funded for each of the 11 purposes set forth in Measure A.

Two of AUSD’s guiding principles are that “parental involvement and community engagement are integral to the success of all students” and that “accountability, transparency and trust are necessary at all levels of the organization.“ Accordingly, and since we have heard those values reaffirmed consistently throughout the community conversation leading to the passage of Measure A, we are committed to implementing strong accountability provisions to ensure fiscal transparency through public information about the uses of Measure A funds. Measure A specifically allocates a small portion of its funds for those purposes, as well as for supporting an Oversight Committee for Measure A. This spring the Board of Education will comply with the mandate of Measure A that “the size, structure and scope of duties of the Oversight Committee shall be set by the Board.” Our expectation is that the Board will set that size, structure and scope of duties before the end of the school year in June so that members of the Oversight Committee can be selected at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year in September and the Measure A Oversight Committee can hold its first meeting in the fall of 2011, as the expenditure of Measure A funds begins.

We will certainly keep you informed as we move forward with implementation of Measure A. If you have any questions about Measure A or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you, as always, for your support of our schools.

Sincerely,

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Kirsten Vital
Superintendent of Schools