Our district community at work...

Dear DJUSD Families & Friends,

California is in a fiscal crisis and the Davis Joint Unified School District is feeling its financial impact.  Since 2008, approximately $10 million has been systematically shaved from our annual budget which represents about 18% of our total revenue.  DJUSD is not alone.  This Spring nearly 20% of California school districts reported they do not have a strong enough fiscal plan to withstand the next 1-3 years of budget shortfall.

Uniquely, Davis schools are also supported by local parcel taxes; they are Measure A, a two year emergency tax that ends in June 2013 and Measure C which begins in July 2012 and ends in June 2017.   These two combined taxes generate approximately $9.7 million.  However, the passage of these local parcel taxes alone do not solve DJUSD’s budget shortfall created by reduced state funding. 

Our plan to prevent DJUSD from running out of cash in 2012-13 began with a $3.5 million spending reduction plan which includes $675K in program, operational and materials cuts and $2.8 million in personnel reductions. Even after making these drastic cuts, DJUSD is still at financial risk.  We face losing another $3.5 million of state funding if the Governor’s proposed November taxes do not pass.  Additionally, we must prepare for another $3.2 million of lost revenue when Measure A goes away in June 2013. 

During this unprecedented economic crisis it is critical we all work together for the benefit of our students and school district.  This is not a time to point fingers but a time to work toward solutions.

One of our partners is helping with solutions. The Davis Schools Foundation (DSF) is prepared to launch its Spring–Summer 2012 fundraising campaign.  DSF president Maria Ungermann expressed that donors have already begun inquiring, pledging, and giving.  Reaching their goal of $500,000 by July will benefit Davis students this upcoming school year.

After gathering input from principals, parents, teachers and district administration, the DSF and DJUSD believe the most effective use of one time money would be to:

• Restore junior high vice principals
• Restore  secondary counselors 
• Continue funding elementary instructional aides (1 at each site) to help mitigate increased class sizes for 2012-13
  

Junior high vice principal positions were reduced to help mitigate DJUSD’s $3.5 million operational deficit.  We appreciate the community’s understanding that these are vital positions which help ensure student safety and smooth daily operations at our sites. 

Secondary counselors provide a myriad of academic and social services for students.  Restoring counseling positions helps ensure that both struggling and high performing students have their academic guidance needs met.

Funding instructional aides places an additional adult at each elementary campus to work with students and help mitigate the effects of increased class sizes. 

We appreciate our partnership with the Davis Schools Foundation and its commitment to help maintain excellent schools in Davis. Please visit the DSF website here.

For more information on district finances, visit Your Budget Questions Answered  and www.DistrictDollars.org.

Feel free to reach me with your comments and suggestions at Superintendent@djusd.net

Regards,

Winfred B. Roberson, Jr.