As a business professional, you know that to run a successful enterprise, you need an excellent product, great people and sufficient money to operate your business.
The Carlsbad Unified School District is in the business of education. We have an excellent product, the world-class education of our students.
We have great people, our dedicated staff. The third necessity, sufficient money, has been at risk due to fluctuations in the state's budget and resulting repercussions on school districts.
The first several months of 2008, beginning with Gov. Schwarzenegger's declaration of a state fiscal emergency in January, were particularly harsh. Our students, families, staff, the Carlsbad Educational Foundation and the community, including many Carlsbad Chamber members, rallied to the cause by sending letters to legislators and strenuously pursuing other efforts. We thank you!
The gloom lifted considerably in June. A joint campaign between the district's World Class Schools Committee and the foundation to raise funds in support of arts, music, sports and libraries was a huge success.
In just a few weeks, the community donated $62,000. That generosity was matched by the foundation, which authorized additional grants to total $604,000. Again, we thank you!
A major event dissipating the June gloom was the district's reclassification by the state as a basic aid district. Based on this new classification, which is retroactive to fiscal year 2007-08, our district will now receive its general fund revenues from local property taxes. The 2008-09 budget still includes about $2 million in budget cuts. This figure is not ideal, but it is far better than the deep $5.6 million in cuts previously anticipated.
Increasing property taxes benefits students
Fewer than 10 percent of public school districts in California qualify as basic aid districts. Among them are the Encinitas and Del Mar Union School districts, both of which, like CUSD, are located in areas with high property values.
Simply put, when a district's revenue from local property taxes exceeds revenue limit income, the state allows the district to keep all property tax income in lieu of receiving per-pupil general purpose funding.
As a result of CUSD's basic aid designation, additional property tax revenue of $1.6 million for fiscal year 2007-08 and an estimated $3.1 million for fiscal year 2008-09 are included in the 2008-09 budget. Our board of trustees has wisely decided to set aside $2.5 million as an additional reserve to provide a buffer against future unforeseen contingencies.
Now that the new school year is underway, I and my colleagues at the district look forward to concentrating fully on our reason for being, the education of our children.
The Carlsbad Unified School District is in the business of education. We have an excellent product, the world-class education of our students.
We have great people, our dedicated staff. The third necessity, sufficient money, has been at risk due to fluctuations in the state's budget and resulting repercussions on school districts.
The first several months of 2008, beginning with Gov. Schwarzenegger's declaration of a state fiscal emergency in January, were particularly harsh. Our students, families, staff, the Carlsbad Educational Foundation and the community, including many Carlsbad Chamber members, rallied to the cause by sending letters to legislators and strenuously pursuing other efforts. We thank you!
The gloom lifted considerably in June. A joint campaign between the district's World Class Schools Committee and the foundation to raise funds in support of arts, music, sports and libraries was a huge success.
In just a few weeks, the community donated $62,000. That generosity was matched by the foundation, which authorized additional grants to total $604,000. Again, we thank you!
A major event dissipating the June gloom was the district's reclassification by the state as a basic aid district. Based on this new classification, which is retroactive to fiscal year 2007-08, our district will now receive its general fund revenues from local property taxes. The 2008-09 budget still includes about $2 million in budget cuts. This figure is not ideal, but it is far better than the deep $5.6 million in cuts previously anticipated.
Increasing property taxes benefits students
Fewer than 10 percent of public school districts in California qualify as basic aid districts. Among them are the Encinitas and Del Mar Union School districts, both of which, like CUSD, are located in areas with high property values.
Simply put, when a district's revenue from local property taxes exceeds revenue limit income, the state allows the district to keep all property tax income in lieu of receiving per-pupil general purpose funding.
As a result of CUSD's basic aid designation, additional property tax revenue of $1.6 million for fiscal year 2007-08 and an estimated $3.1 million for fiscal year 2008-09 are included in the 2008-09 budget. Our board of trustees has wisely decided to set aside $2.5 million as an additional reserve to provide a buffer against future unforeseen contingencies.
Now that the new school year is underway, I and my colleagues at the district look forward to concentrating fully on our reason for being, the education of our children.