Letter to Parents

March 9, 2001

Dear Parents,

We are writing to address some of the concerns expressed by parents in the past few weeks. As elected representatives of the community, the Board of Trustees is entrusted with making many policy, financial, business and personnel decisions for the Larkspur School District. When making decisions, a board must act responsibly and thoughtfully consider all the information. Issues often have numerous sides or perspectives which can make decisions very difficult. We want you to know that these are not tasks that we as trustees take lightly. Rather we take them quite seriously and consider them with a great deal of care. We regret the upsetting impact caused by some of these difficult decisions. While we work hard to balance the many demands and requirements made on the administration of a school district, sometimes all the decision making criteria is not clear to the community. It is especially difficult, such as in recent personnel decisions, when we are prevented by law from sharing all of the information with our community.

We respect and appreciate the ongoing communication of concerns as well as the constructive input we receive from fellow parents and community members. This input is essential to a healthy decision making process. We are lucky to be in a community that cares so deeply about education. The Larkspur School District believes an extraordinary education can be achieved through the strength of a partnership between parents, school staff, students and our community. The path to our shared goals will be supported by effective communication and interaction. There is a great deal of information that we are able to share with you. Please continue to call us, email us, or write to us to answer your questions and keep us all on the same path.

We are very fortunate to have the benefit of guidance and information provided by our Superintendent Dr. Barbara Wilson and our Chief Financial Officer Dr. Mike Slater. Their skilled and tireless efforts are responsible for many extraordinary accomplishments in our district over the past year and a half. Further, we have received valuable support and input from the teachers and staff at Neil Cummins and Hall. All of us hold the staff at Neil Cummins, Hall and the District Office in the highest regard. We thank them for their commitment to our community and offer them our commitment in return.

Our children are a community treasure. There is nothing of greater importance to all of us than the nurturing and education of all of our children. The district will no doubt continue to be faced with complicated decisions as we endeavor to deliver the best educational program possible. We know that we can rely on the parent community to encourage and support the district teachers and staff. We thank you for all that you do and know that together all of our hard work will continue to strengthen the district.

Sincerely,
LARKSPUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES