February 1, 2010
This past week in President Obama's first State of the Union address he stated that "In the 21st Century, the best anti-poverty program is a world class education." Our nation and the State of California are beginning an upward climb back to economic stability. For public education it will be a slower uncertain trip of five or more years according to the State of California Legislative Analyst's Office. This unclear journey for public education makes President Obama's statement a challenging goal for the near future. What does all this mean to Centralia School District? There are two major challenges lying before our district. First is the loss of revenue, and second is the loss of enrollment. Unfortunately, they work hand in hand with one another and impact overall revenue for the educational programs and management of our school district. The Board of Education and I are committed to keeping you informed on our budgeting challenges, so this letter will provide a brief budget update summary as follows: • As a result of declining enrollment, the District has lost over 500 students during the last 4 years equating to an annual loss of $2.4 million in operating revenue. Since 2001-02 our enrollment has dropped 17.2%, or 940 students Just as we budgeted for continued declining enrollment, adjusted personnel and intentionally kept reductions away from the classroom as much as possible in 2009-10, we will have to continue in the same vein for the 2010-11 school year. Beginning in mid-February a "Superintendent's Advisory Committee" will begin to look at the demographics of our district. This process will take into consideration school site boundaries, district-wide populations, possible school consolidations, future use of our existing properties, educational programs, and the reduction of combination classes. Parents, members of the community, district employees, administration and the Board of Education will be involved in this work. Updates of the committee's work will be posted on the district website at www.cesd.us . It is important to remember that our students have received a quality education during these past four years of challenges, and will continue to do so. Last year Centralia School District students scored higher than the County and State averages on STAR tests. Our schools have received awards for high academic success and for closing the achievement gap. We participate in State, County and community collaborative programs that reach out to meet the needs of all students. We have pride in our schools and a district focus committed to academic achievement for all students. I thank you for your continued support of the Centralia School District. Sincerely,
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Superintendent's Advisory Committee
• The Committee is made up of parent representatives from each school in the district, as well as staff and members of the community. • The Committee will meet each week beginning on February 18, 2010, as long as is necessary to review all of the information provided and then formulate their recommendations to the Superintendent as to the disposition of all sites. We estimate 5 weeks for this purpose. Please note that minutes from each meeting will be posted on the District website for public information. In addition, the Superintendent will provide the Board of Education with a report as to the work of the Committee at each Board meeting. • After the Committee has completed their study and brought forth their recommendations to the Superintendent, the Superintendent will prepare an agenda item to submit recommendations to the Board of Education for their consideration. These recommendations may include school consolidations, boundary changes, etc. • The Board will consider the recommendations made and direct the Superintendent to schedule a public meeting to gather public input relative to the suggested recommendations. • The Superintendent will prepare an agenda item to submit recommendations to the Board of Education for their consideration, including the public input gathered at the public meeting.
Superintendent's Advisory Committee As noted in the FAQ information previously posted on the website, a Superintendent's Advisory Committee made up from parent representatives from each school, as well as staff and community members, was formed for the purpose of studying data and demographic information relative to all schools in the Centralia School District. The Committee met every Thursday, beginning on February 18, 2010, through March 11th to review data and demographic information, and vote on an agreed upon list of criteria to determine the recommended course of action. The Committee then formulated their recommendation to the Superintendent for school closure for the 2010/11 school year at the March 11th meeting. The Superintendent has scheduled a meeting with staff members of the Centralia School District on Thursday, March 18th at 3:30 p.m. at Walter Knott School multipurpose room. Following that meeting, a special meeting of the Board of Education has been scheduled at 5:30 p.m. in the District Office Board Room. The Board of Education will receive the recommendation of the Committee presented by the Superintendent. The Board will consider the recommendation and direct the Superintendent to schedule public meetings to gather public input relative to the suggested recommendations. These meetings will be communicated via the District website (www.cesd.us) and telephone messages to parents through our ConnectEd calling system. After the public meetings, another Special Board Meeting will be scheduled and information gathered from the public meetings will be shared, and the final recommendation will be presented to the Board of Education for their consideration.
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