Comments from Parents Survey

Just to state for the record that my kids attend Bayfarm Elementary and ACLC, so my family wouldn't have been affected by closing of Wood Middle School - i did not attend any of the meetings - i think since as taxpayers we all pay for the schools, that the decision to close or not close Wood should go to a vote of the citizens of Alameda -

Q4 I attended the meeting held at Chipman MS. While the Superintendent wanted to break out into smaller groups so that we could all have a chance to be heard, the public rallied against that idea. As a result, many voices were not heard. Q5 While I understand the emotions against closing Wood, in the long run, it may prove to be beneficial fiscally and educationally to combine the Middle School into 2 sites. However, it needs to be planned out so that the public has time to digest the impact. Also, studies need to be conducted to see how many students AUSD would lose to private schools if Wood closes. Q6 I am hoping that the AEF endowment fund drive really takes off and balances any deficit found by not reducing the budget by the entire $2mil. In terms of other items on the list, my biggest concern is with the cutting of the High School counselors and the College/Career counselors (the 20/1 class size in 9th grade math/english is great but not as critical). As background, I have 1 child in AUSD and 1 child in private school. If drastic cuts are made to the HS counselors, my tendency is to allow my child to go to private HS instead of AHS to have the proper attention and guidance. While we have great teachers at AUSD, my worry is that it is only a matter of time for them to begin fleeing to other districts where the salaries are higher. We all need to help to increase the funding/child in our district to stay competitive and to provide the education all of our students deserve.

Would it be possible to introduce after school programs which would meet the needs of working parents and students alike - it could be based along the lines of a charter component - having a focus on the Arts and sciences - thus making up for the loss from the current "No child left behind" Act- the cost would need to be competitive - covering the cost of the program - teachers - advisors - the money for the schools would be generated by the "rental of the school space" and a percentage of the "profits" from the programs ... This would be a more structured program than what Girls Inc currently offers .. Why should sylvan learning and Berkley academics hold the market? Obviously there is a sustainable market that could ultimately benefit the district. Just a thought

My son attended Alameda Public Schools. I left some fundraising information with the principal of Chipman Middle School. These ideas will by no means take care of all of Alameda's budget woees but they are a good start for individual schools. I'll be present at the meeting on February 27, 2007 with flyers for fundraising ideas that are supported by Yahoo (they have a search engine where their advertisers donate money each time the engine is used), and Provident Credit Union which donates $10 for each $25 account opened by someone in a PTA. They also provide a fundraising coordinator and all necessary materials at no charge. I was very active in Chipman's PTA years ago when my son attended.

I would very much like having the opportunity to regularly provide input regarding school issues, including the budget, via a survey monkey. It allows input without going to a meeting, which is not possible for many parents, including myself.

Why doesn't the district clearly and often state that the disrict received a 8.62% COLA that this year? Similarly, why didn't the district mention the projected 4.04% fully funded COLA for next year PLUS the monies received this year? Why can't the district office get "cut to the knees" as the students and employees are expected to endure? Why don't you, Mr. McMahon, demand fiscal responsibility of my tax payer dollars? Thank you for asking.

There needs to be much more communication and trust between the CFO and the community/school employees. The district cannot blame teachers for the budget crises, as ALL received the raise. This shortfall should have been anticipated, as future shortfalls should be anticipated and planned.

the budget itself was not provided, making it hard to make suggestions or validate what was being put forward. The notion that we needed to save $2m, but then only had to get by with $1.5m in cuts was quite confusing.

This district is a mess. New teachers do not want to teach here. They can make $10,000 more a year just over the hill. We had an excellent English teach leave Alameda High school this past year because he got an $18,000 raise in salary and benefits. As the older teachers begin to retire, you will have a hard time replacing them with high quality people. You can always get bodies to be in the classroom, but your precious test will go down and parents with money will take their kids to private schools. So, your enrollment will go down and so will the ADA. Some suggestions: 1. Raise taxes immediately. How about a taxes that gets everyone! Like a sales taxes, can you do that for local schools? Property taxes now are very low, we can afford twice what we are paying for schools. 2. Start pay to play like other districts. Let lab classes charge fees. Make students buy their own books. 3. Do something about Kofman Auditorium. The fees have not be raised in over 20 years and collect back fees. Also, raise fees on the public using the facilities. 4. Cut technology. All we need are books and paper.

I don't believe Wood Middle was ever to be closed...perhaps a 'red herring' to have the community point fingers at other programs to cut...just my conspiracy theory. -I'm glad most from the community stated why items on the list should not be cut and gave suggestions on funding instead of cutting, ie. corporate sponserships, equalization, repeal prop.13, cut farthest away from children & so on. -I was very disappointed in the Board Members Ms. Gibons and Ms. Jensen on not offering ideas on helping the budget except to continue to cut from mostly West End Schools. They had no problem closing Paden Academy, Longfellow, Miller...Then open Ruby Ridge where the new housing is? -STOP Charters! Our Public Schcools should not allow ACLC charter school to leach off Encinal High. If it's so wonderful, ACLC should stand on its own and not take up space in crowded EHS's programs Science, Language etc... Where they are being taught by Encinal teachers and sitting with Encinal students?! ACLC likes to take the credit for their students GPA's, not to mention the Charter school picks from hundreds of applications the best for their type of program and can remove anyone unlike Public Schools that take everyone. -Instead of scores parents should look at progress with students (ex:English Language Learners) and Honors Classes available at the public schools for their 'budding Einstein's' And why are ACLC students mostly White? -ASTI has not worked out too well either. Thank you...Alameda Native

Publicize the entire budget, not just the staff's view of suggested cuts. Provide a comparison to state average for comparable districts for top 20 revenue and cost categories (e.g. ADA revenue, Grant revenue, admin costs, teachers, physical plant, supplies, etc.) Where is Alameda receiving less / spending more than the state average ? Is there a best practice out there to emulate ? ... put all this on the districts website. Also provide an accounting of how many Alameda kids go to non-AUSD schools ? Perhaps help could be found in attracting/retaining local kids.

The wording on #7 is a little confusing. Mike - I really appreciate YOUR Herculean efforts to communicate with parents and support arts programs. So my following comments are not a criticism of you! Some concerns with the whole process: I don't know whether English-learning parents are at all contacted or involved in this process. Judging by the nonexistent info I've received in writing from the district, it seems that public information of parents who don't have internet access is minimal. AUSD should send letters to each and every family periodically to inform them of budget issues that will affect their children's educations - with required "sign and return" to cover the district's ... assets... and an opportunity to ask questions ! Usually back-to-school is a feel-good, rather superficial event. Every single family - whether returning or joining AUSD - should receive a sign/return packet apprising them of the funding issues and threatened programs - as well as AUSD's good news - like "we have amazing schools and teachers even though our budget sucks". On #6 - just because we don't WANT to cut the budget doesn't mean we won't HAVE to if our funding continues to be inadequate. These cuts will come eventually as a result of cumulative fiscal damage.

You are going to have to cut costs. Continuing to increase taxes is putting the problem off. We have a lot less students than when the Navy was here. You'll need to lay off teachers.

I believe that there were serious mistakes made in the district's oversight. WHY did 6 portable languish for 12 months at Alameda High? Why spend $100K for technology NOW? Why were teachers each bought low-performance HP computers, and what did THAT waste? Why do we have a non-performing PR person? If attendance is dropping, schools and staffing should be cut back at those sites, and schools shut down. Why demand equality for political reasons when one area is losing population? I want to see accountability!

I sense the Alameda School District is damaging themselves and my kids caused by a lack of initiative to resolve the main problem of inequitable funds allocated to Alameda students. Parents that have the ability will leave the public school system leaving the district with even less students. I do think there where schools lack students, there is a need to consolidate including the possibility of merging Bay Farm if warranted. I do not think it is realistic or the District to maintain a half-filled school. I do not think a majority of the minimum personnel cuts cuts will result in true savings.

I was shocked to see there were no provisions for salary/benefit increase. I also feel like the district is manipulating the information to the media so it looks as if the retro pay raise to teachers is the cause of the district being in the red. That money was owed to teachers and it's not their fault that the district overspent.

Tough times, tough decisions.....tough to be a leader right now. Thank you for leading.

If support from the general community is so weak (last bond measure passed by 51 votes). If progress on Alameda Point housing is years away (more kids). And if there is the real threat of up-scale households with school-age children leaving AUSD by moving or attending private schools (100 plus)due to cuts in teachers and services. Then we need to investigate a LAW SUIT against the state for a greater/fairer share of money to run the district. At least spend a few thousand dollars out of the CITY’S general fund to see if it is worthwhile. Get the mayor and the city council on-board. Maybe we could get a few neighboring districts to join us in such a move. What else is left? Closing more schools? Laying off more staff and teachers? Busing children from one end of the island to another? When would it end?

We want more discussion of legislative options for the long term fix. We are very happy to see the community get involved and show some interest. We think Ardella deserves credit for her transparent approach this crisis. In the near term, it should make the hard choices less emotional since it now seems closure and consolidation of K-5 AND MS's is inevitable.

You could also take a survey on what items parents and students see as a priority NOT to cut and which they believe could be cut. I still think that our district should not be supporting JROTC and that it should become an outside organization not unlike the Scouts.

I feel once the community meetings started, the sharing of info and the process went ok. But, information of this magnitude and importance should have been distributed to every parent much earlier in the process. The school district needs to reexamine the way they communicate with parents, and how to do this more often, not just during a crises situation.

-Parents were told about the community meetings, but only 24 hours in advance. It was too little, too late for such an important issue. -Cuts should stay as far away from the students as possible. Keep the high school. counselors and smaller class sizes out of the cuts. These effect the students directly and in a big way. -Thank goodness the parents spoke loudly enough to save Wood from closure which would have caused our budding teenagers tremendous angst. -At a time of crisis in our district, we can't concern ourselves with providing for salary and benefit increases. The teachers' union has to see what's going on here. In most industries, benefits are being cut for employees, or employees are being asked to shoulder more of the burden. The union will have to deal with the reality of the situation in Alameda until our politicians get off their rear ends and force the state to bring more money into the district and until we find more creative ways of raising money. Thanks for doing this survey; much appreciated.

Because of Alameda's size all decisions surrounding education are very dramatic. I truly believe that all of those involved are working towards a better system. We must be very careful in making dramatic changes and in setting precedents. What is missing is direct explicit transparent information about the existing allocation of monies in AUSD. At one community meeting we were provided graphs showing Alameda County districts differential allocations from the state. We need to see the AUSD line per line budget specifically to comment intelligently on allocation of resources. Also Mr. Forbes, who seems to have studied the inequitable funding situation carefully, thought there was a specific way we should go politically, but we need more information on that. I believe that the state would be more likely to equalize funding if we had a vision/plan for what we want to spend the money on. And perhaps you do but the public just doesn't know about it. It will be a lot easier to get support if parents know what they are working towards and agree to it. What do the teachers and principals believe we need for our students?? Lastly, I think the AEF are a creative group who are trying to take up the slack for our woes. But what makes me uncomfortable as well as others is that they would be making recommendations for where money is to be spent on our schools. I'm not exactly comfortable with that. I think the district should have a vision for AUSD and that vision should be guided by best practices and teacher and principal leadership plus parental input in all socio- economic levels, not just those who can afford to make donations to AEF. I look forward to hearing more about what citizens can do and I wish all those involved much success and wisdom.

I have read several comments from people that the district failed in its notification and that many people had no idea about the cuts and/or meetings. To these people I say: wake up and pay attention. If they paid attention year round, not just when headlines are made, they would have known exactly what was going on. I remember first reading about the necessity of cuts back in October! It is every parent's responsibility to stay informed and be proactive with their children's education. Stop whining about the past and try to make a difference going forward. And from now on pay attention!

I appreciate the continuing efforts of the District & the Board to include the Community in this process. I would like to see everyone continue to engage in creating solutions that additional revenue for AUSD and that create a long term strategic financial plan. If nothing else, this process has engaged our Parent Community in a level that many of us have never participated in before. I would also like to see more information regarding the negotiation process with our incredible staff. I understand there are very serious issues on both sides. The continuing "Us vs. Them" environment that is portrayed in the press is not encouraging to Parents and our Community. I hope that both sides of the table can continue to accurately inform the public in this negotiating process (as appropriate). I think that both the District and the Unions need to make it very clear that they are working together to create solutions that can be clearly implemented moving forward.

it's unfortunate the state & vested interests are not aggressively pursuing a more equitable allocation of education dollars. it's perhaps more unfortunate that citizens other than school-age parents are not more interested in the process: better schools = better kids = better families = better society.

Parents may need more clarity as to why this year the budget needs to be reduced by such a high amount 2 million, when last year the amount i thought was 500,000.

The current school budget is a very difficult situation. It was appropriate to not close down Wood School; however, it is not appropriate to leave the district in such a vulnerable position as it will be in with cutting back to $1,500,000. Parents need to contact state representatives and hound the state to increase our ADA money. This too is difficult because the outcome may not yield what we would like. Also, past superintendents should of had some kind of plan knowing that AUSD would be in the situation it is now. Is that why the last superintendent left the district?

Enough cuts! In fact, way too many for way too long! Let's fund raise to establish a fund to sue the State of California to break out of this public education death spiral.

The reason the decision to keep Wood school open was appropriate is because the consolidated plan was disastrous. It was not thought out at all. I think consolidation of schools needs to be in our future but we need to plan for it and it needs to make sense.

I would rather "bite the bullet" and lose a middle school NOW than touch the high schools, their counseling programs, sports programs and staffing. For many, college would not be possible without the help of college and career centers, sports opportunities and caring support staff. I feel we are only putting off the inevitable cuts. Something we continue to do each time we hit the hard decisions. Let's be fiscally smart and plan for what we KNOW is ahead. The teachers need pay raises and services that directly affect our children are imperative. Consolidating the middle schools may turn out to be a very good thing, not only to the bottom line, but to our children and their futures.

ACLC has a surplus, make schools charter schools. Granddaughter goes to ACLC and loves it!

AUSD needs to operate in a financially prudent manner. Long term planning is imperative. If not consolidating schools (which may improve the quality of education District-wide), then what? Current state of AUSD schools: Elementary good, Middle & High weak. With proposed cuts to High, seriously have to reconsider sending our kids there. Moving students around at semester/trimester so AUSD can pack all the classes will be hard on our kids, as will enlarging 9th grade Math & English classes, cutting electives (ROTC), eliminating the most experienced counselors, & reducing sports.

My kids are in elementary school, and in the Wood district. I am disappointed that the consolidation was not developed further, as I think it could have been beneficial in equalizing programs available to all middle school students.

I feel like there is not long term planning. We need to take a look at the district as a whole and come up with a budget we can live with, at this enrollment level, year after year. The decision to close Wood might have been a good one but the way it was poorly handled. What other options were considered- for instance, why not have one high school? There appeared to be no pedagogical reason for closing Wood. We need a long-term configuration for the district we can live with. Every option should be put on the table and considered. I also have some questions I am still unclear on: What does it cost the district to run ACLC? Is EHS reimbursed for classes ACLC kids take? Explain the shift in categorical funds and why it wasn't done in earlier years?

Lot's of people in the private industry have had to figure out how to live without a raise for several years when things went bad (i.e. dot com bust). People may be able to point out petty things they disagree with in spending but I can't figure out anyone doesn't think Ardella and Luz have done just about all you can ask of 2 people. I know I am a little more involved in the process but when I talk to parents they are nothing but impressed.

Comments from Staff Survey

I don't understand why the teachers are conitnually being blamed in the papers for this budget shortfall. All employees of this district benefited from the raise but that is never mentioned.

The information provided at the budget meetings was only based on what the district wanted us to see. There was NO input from the community (ie budget committee) to review the entire AUSD budget and discuss budget cuts in a smaller more appropriate setting. This district continues to be re-active instead of pro-active. Regarding the change in recommendations from $2M to $1.5M, why do we continue to put a bandaid on things? Why are we continually having to make budget cuts when surrounding districts are giving raises? I'm tired of hearing low enrollment, not being paid the same as other districts, etc. We've been that way for some time now and we are going to have to make long term budget cuts, rather than every year putting the same items on the budget cut list.

Many of the staff strongly suspect that one or both of two things are true...1) There is fiscal mismanagement somewhere, waste or investment in educational experiments (like our three "charter" schools and/or 2) We are not considering all possible means of raising revenue, up to and including selling properties owned by the district.

Your self identified mandate is to keep budget cuts away from the classroom. That being said, how can you justify increasing the size of 9th grade classes in math and English? Students come to the high school in a state of shell shock. They leave the familiar small environment of middle school and enter the complex and competitive world of high school. They are children who enter a world dominated by (seeming) adults. Small classes provide a haven for such students, allowing them to gain confidence and make academic progress that will make the transition to large 10th grade classes possible. Teaching a class of 35 9th graders is overwhelming and chaotic--imagine how it must feel to be a 9th grader attempting to learn in such an impersonal situation. All research indicates and our test scores support the idea that reduction in class size equals achievement in core subject areas. Small class sizes are a "selling" point for our local schools. Many people tell us point blank that the small size of math and English classes is the determining factor for choosing public over private education. WHY jeopardize one of the only advantages we have over the private schools? As for the "trustworthiness" of the information given out by the board...Your numbers are refuted by the information given out by our union leaders. The state has provided for approximately 8% in increased funding--it is unclear to me where that money is going to be used. This district has a history of fiscal mismanagement going back 20 years to the debacle of using interest on bond money to pay for "golden handshakes." Whenever there is a budgetery shortfall the standard comment by the district has always been something like: Those teachers negotiated a raise--therefore the district is once again in a deficit situation. The public seems to believe this egregious lie. Teachers are workers. Workers must be paid. Workers are free to leave one job and move on to another if the incentives are sufficient. We are increasingly unable to keep talented young teachers. We lose them to nearby districts whose pay schedules are up to $18,000 MORE PER YEAR. If I were not nearly ready to retire there is no way that I could afford to stay in the AUSD. The district has publically stated that our students make it worthwhile for us to stay even though the financial hit affects us daily and will eventually negatively affect our retirement. Perhaps--and perhaps not. Teaching is difficult and rewarding...here, Marin, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek..why not do the same essential job and get paid more money. This logic is not lost on our new and talented teachers. Get Real Folks--we need to be competitive. We need the best people available. We need to pay for our needs. If our funding formula is the problem--say so! (Do not demonize the teachers and their negotiated raises)--AND GET TOGETHER WITH THE FOUR OTHER DISTRICTS THAT ARE LIKEWISE FUNDED AND FILE A CLASS ACTION SUIT--GET THE ATTENTION OF THE BIG GUYS IN SACRAMENTS. We are all saddened and frustrated. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and past behavior by the AUSD governing bodies has been accusatory and unproductive. If I taught my classes the way in which "you" run this district, I would lose my job. And I would deserve to!

Please see my email sent to all Board members today.

You need to take a stand just as you did with Longfellow. If closing Wood school make a huge budget impact,then do it.

Closing Wood School and possibly combining another small school makes the most sense. It would give the District a large portion of the funding needed. We keep cutting pieces from everything; running programs, staffing, etc on less than basics. Closing schools is hard on the community, but it would possibly leave students with programs and staffing needed.

Having to discuss budget cuts every year causes a feeling of distrust between staff and district administration, probably among the community as well. Also, the ideas for improving our budget situation were not put forth from the district, but from the community. To the district and school board I would say, Let's try to build, not destroy. If there is a way to make that happen, then the necessary cuts will be small and everyone will feel like they are moving toward a goal, instead of watching everything get torn apart.

I think the recommended cut list would look different if site administrators and teachers were involved in the drafting of the list.

I don't think the full plan for the 8th grade program at Woodstock was presented completely, nor were the advantages explained to the community. The 8th grade program is an opportunity to equalize many of the gaps in learning and provide students will a better start in high school.

There are a lot of unkowns in this district. Why do we have 2 men in charge of 10. MOF! Why does anyone still have a car/allowance? Why do hire back retired administrators for an insane amount of money? To do what? Why is Franklin open? Why do we always have to find an administrator a partial job to keep them full time? Why are we funding anything that is not mandated by state? ie, assessment. Why was a comparison made between other districts to show that we are equal at district level, but we clearly excluded to areas????? Why are we conintuing ASTI if it is no longer be funded by it's original source. Who is budget savvy?

Parents of AUSD students need to accept that the state will not finance excellence in education nor can they rely on "the community" (ie parcel taxes)alone to fund excellence. Parents themselves must step up to the plate and contribute significantly to their childrens education. A contribution of $300 to $1000 per child per year is appropriate, with the understanding that some parents cannot afford this.

There need to be cuts and no doubt, everyone feels strongly about something however, something has got to give. We have kept our cuts far from the classroom for far too long. As a parent, I don't want my children to suffer but at some point, this community needs to wake up. As an AUSD employee, our family is in financially bad shape. It is unfortunate that the district has to deal with CTA in order to do the right thing by the employees - which this district has never really done.

Year "fixes" are an inappropriate way to deal with budget shortfalls - we need to go forward with big changes and cuts, as far away as students as possible - then maintain a balanced budget through fiscally responsible management. Additional moneys spent on programs like assessment and technology do not benefit our children. Good teachers assess daily and gain little new information from district assessments. Purchasing tech. programs like the GATE Renzulli programs waste funds, as well as teaching and learning time. Fund teacher support and training, rather than magic pills like reading programs, tech. programs, and even class size reduction. Good, dedicated teachers are the key. Recruit and retain them.

As a former parent, now staff person and taxpayer of Alameda, I am concerned that we seem to deal with the budget problems/crisis EVERY year. Our district needs to be pro active and think long term. It is disappointing that the district seems to blame the teachers raise...come on..didn't they think they would want a raise, especially with the increase cost of Health insurance. Let's be realistic here...Alameda is like a small town in a very urban area, that's why people like it, they like the community, small schools (the reason some people look to buy homes in Alameda). Yes, we may have declining enrollment but for how long with all the development. I look around my neighborhood and see young families moving into the area. The district doesn't want to lose kids to private schools, so we do early enrollment but now we are going to take away programs or not fund them? We need to do long term planning, get the State to equalize ADA, re-assess all the testing we do of our students, and make sure we don't lose or dilute the services closest to the student.