BUDGET REDUCTIONS FOR 2002-2003

April 8, 2002

At its March 28, 2002 meeting the Larkspur School District Board of Trustees provided to staff a list of items to be reduced from the 2002-2003 budget. it was a difficult, heart-breaking task about which none of us are happy. Yet all of us recognized the necessity, and our legal obligation, to ensure financial solvency for the district in upcoming years. We could not do this, and continue to pay competitive wages to our excellent staff, without making significant cuts.

While the Trustees recognize that a reduction in resources will impact the way in which certain services and programs are delivered, our direction to staff includes a goal to maintain levels of program service to the maximum extent feasible. Reading and Academic Support will continue to be delivered using the Reading Support Specialist position (which was preserved) to coordinate and implement alternative means to replace the classified position (which was eliminated). We hope that art delivered in the classroom will be supplemented by outside programs that could be funded by sources such as grants or possibly the PTA. And, despite cuts, there will be an increase in the delivery of the science curriculum in the upcoming years, through review and updating of the district’s science standards.

Inevitably, there will be a reduction of programs or services in some areas, such as the classroom assistants at Neil Cummins. The portion of this service that has been paid for through the district’s general fund will be eliminated (about 60%). To ensure the most effective utilization of the remaining assistant hours, the site administrators and leadership team will create a new schedule that targets the priorities they identify.

The Trustees reached consensus on these items:

The Trustees agreed to discuss the technology positions for future budget years after an upcoming technology plan evaluation is completed and future direction for this program can be determined.

These budget decisions were informed by extensive input from parents and staff. Additionally, research by staff and the Trustees was undertaken to provide comparative or programmatic data regarding various items. in the final analysis it was clear that the district was already operating on a lean, efficient budget, and that the necessary cuts would impact us at the core. We regret that our community must face a shortage of resources for its educational programs. And, we hope that the priorities of our society and governance systems will change over time, such that the education that our children need, and surely deserve, will be fully funded.

From the Trustees: