Strategic Plan
In response to the governor’s proposed cuts to public education, the Alameda Education Foundation has initiated a six-point strategic plan designed to:
a) respond to the current funding challenge;
b) rectify long-standing inequalities in the state’s education funding; and
c) support AUSD’s high-quality programs and teachers.
The plan draws on a wide range of legal, legislative, and financial tools. As such, we believe it can inspire the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders who are ready, willing, and able to act to save our local school district.
The six-point plan, which was developed in conjunction with leading thinkers in Alameda’s educational community, consists of:
SHORT TERM
Fundraising via Alameda Education Foundation (AEF)
The problem: The current funding challenge is the most severe state cutback AUSD has faced. But it’s hardly a new phenomenon. The ebbs and flows of state funding – combined with declining enrollment — have forced AUSD to make $7.7 million in cuts in the last 7 years.
What stakeholders can do: AEF is committed to generating a long-term, stable source of supplemental funding for the district, so that the education and experience of our children gets unhooked from the vagaries of state politics. As such, the foundation has crafted a strategic plan to address both the short-term and long-term funding challenges in the district. We now have a grant-writing campaign, a business campaign, and a direct appeal campaign in place and we’re excited about providing a way for citizens, businesses, and grantors to help us support the arts, music, sports, technology, magnet programs and “green schools” in our district.
Parcel Tax
The problem: The $4.5 million in cuts that AUSD is currently facing will result in mass lay-offs of teachers and staff, as well as the reduction or elimination of a number of valuable programs, including high school athletics, music for grades 1-3, class size reduction in grades K-3 and 9, AP classes, special education, and social services. The loss of state revenue also could lead to a takeover by the state. These losses will directly affect property values in Alameda, as well as the health and well-being of our children and of thousands of low-income families in our city.
What stakeholders can do: A parcel tax would help AUSD avoid having to make many of these cuts to personnel and programs over the next 4 years. Such a parcel tax would apply to both residential and business properties and could generate enough money in the next year to offset the proposed cuts. People who are interested in this parcel tax can get involved with Keep Alameda Schools Excellent to learn more about the parcel tax effort.
Community Education and Awareness
The problem: The policy and logistics of public education funding are so complex that most community members don’t understand how it works — or what its effect might be on individual schools and children. Moreover, misinformation about AUSD policies and finances, as well as individuals in the community, circulates very quickly.
What stakeholders can do: AEF recently initiated an “Ambassadors” program through which community members can get trained about the current budget challenge and then go out to educate other community members. The foundation also has launched a new web site to help get accurate, balanced information to community members in a timely way. Keep Alameda Schools Excellent also has developed an excellent FAQ on why and how the current budget crisis developed.
LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS
Equalization
The problem: Under the current education funding formula, not all districts get the same amount of state money, per pupil, as other districts. In fact, Alameda currently gets less money per pupil than any other district in Alameda County. This has resulted in long-standing financial difficulties for our schools.
Indeed, if AUSD, which currently receives just $5777 per pupil, received the same $6680 per student that the Dublin Unified School District does, we’d have $9 million more in revenues each year.
What stakeholders can do: Contact state legislators and ask for true “equalization” of funding for public education. Ask, in particular, that AUSD receive more money per pupil, so that its students get as good an education as students in other districts do, and that California students as a whole receive closer to the national average (which is a full $2000.00 more per student than California currently provides).
California currently ranks 46th in the nation for education funding; if the proposed cuts go through, the state will rank 48th.
Devolution of Funding
The problem: About 25 percent of the state funds that AUSD receives are “categorical” funds, meaning they have to be spent on programs mandated by the state. That gives the district little flexibility or autonomy in deciding how to respond to its own fiscal needs. (It’s a lot like being asked to run your household with someone controlling all your decisions.)
What stakeholders can do: Ask your legislators to work toward a “devolution” of state funding, so that local districts can have more control over how they spend their own revenues. And support the parcel tax and AEF—the more funds we generate locally, the more control we have over our own programs.
Legal Action
The problem: The state is legally required to provide the district with an “adequate” amount of money to educate its students. Several attorneys in the district are investigating options for suing the state for reneging on its obligations. At the same time, attorneys are looking into how other districts have handled being poorly funded or having a military base close nearby.
What stakeholders can do: Volunteer to help research how other districts have low funding levels or having a military base close.
The Alameda Education Foundation 501(c)(3)
PO Box 1363, Alameda, CA 94501
Tel: 510. 748.4008, ext. 105
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