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January 2010

January 4, 2010

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. -Oprah Winfrey  

 

Dear Parents,

 

Happy New Year! Whether you stayed home or traveled great distances over the holidays, I hope the time with the children home from school was all that you wanted it to be and that you feel good about the year ahead. I know as I think about 2010 I am very aware that the school district is preparing for both the opportunities and the challenges of a new year. 

 

Experience teaches us that every year does indeed bring us both opportunities and challenges. I am hopeful that our discussions can be more about the opportunities that come with being in such a fine school district, as clearly this is the right place to challenge ourselves and our students to be truly prepared for a changing world. One clear message that came out of the recent forums was that the San Ramon Valley USD is the perfect place to explore the “next level," which was extremely encouraging to hear. We are a district that takes pride in its accomplishments, but does not rest on its laurels as we face the demands of educating students for a successful global existence. As we begin 2010, I do hope we can all take a moment to appreciate the many positive elements of living in the San Ramon Valley, which I believe includes having such a fine school district to serve the students.

 

Now with that said, I must tell you that I spent some time over the break thinking about the continuing financial crisis the State faces and the impact this will have on the school district. I won’t hide the fact that it is ironic to be having great conversations about educating kids in the 21st Century while struggling with the reality that our school district, along with just about every other school district in the state, is approaching a financial cliff that is scary in size to say the least. While we have exciting ideas about reforming education, it is extremely disappointing that funding for public education places us in a position of struggling to preserve even the most basic of services our students deserve.

 

As I thought about this continuing crisis over the break, I concluded that we are best served by dealing with it straight up and not delaying action on the hope of some miracle happening down the road. My recommendation is that we grapple with the hard decisions in the month of January and early February, as these decisions will most likely impact jobs and salaries, programs, and quite possibly services for our students.

 

Unlike so many school districts up and down the state, we have managed to avoid the worst of the class size increases, program cuts, employee layoffs, and furlough days. We have done so by intentionally living off one-time money (reserves and stimulus funds), but this of course is not a long-term solution. This is not a time for blaming others or denying this situation, but rather for honest conversation and problem solving. My goal is to communicate directly with our employees and community and to work closely with the school board and with the leadership of our unions to chart a course of action that is thoughtful and realistic.

 

What I do know is that we have exceptional people, engaged employee organizations, a thoughtful and caring School Board and a community that cares about its schools. This reality does not make the crisis disappear, but it does give reason to be hopeful that we can navigate through these troubled waters in a manner that best protects the mission of our work.

 

I’m sorry to bring such a cautious message as we enter this new year. I know that financial concerns are not new for public education in California, but this economic downturn has seriously impacted the State of California and obviously all public services, including public education. We will work hard together and communicate openly as we thoughtfully consider all options during this challenging period of time.

 

Thank you for your consideration and thank you for your continuing support of our schools and our district.

  

Sincerely,

  

Steven Enoch

Superintendent of Schools 

San Ramon Valley Unified School District