The Sonoma Valley Unified School District has set up a schedule of special board meetings designed to educate and get feedback from the public about how upcoming budget cuts will affect the Valley’s schools. The problem is how to get that same public to attend the meetings.
Board and audience members, most of whom are tied to the district in some way, didn’t see eye-to-eye on the most effective way to garner the public involvement at the next two critical budget meetings on Oct. 21 and Nov. 17.
Sonoma Valley High School economics teacher David Donnelley advocated shocking the public into taking notice. “The district is on the brink of financial disaster and the public is unaware that there is a crisis. The state doesn’t have the resources to help us so we need to decide what are we going to do about it,” said Donnelley. “We must get the word out that if the community doesn’t do something, the students are going to suffer and the community is going to pay as a result of reduced services.”
Others at the meeting thought a strong “yes we can” message would better serve to pull the community together. Some felt the district had “cried wolf” in the past pleading that budget cuts would end school sports or close libraries when, in fact, sports are still available and libraries remain open. Trustee Nicole Abate Ducarroz pointed out those cuts did actually occur but that concerned citizens stepped up to creatively fund sports through the Boosters and libraries through the Love Our Libraries campaign.
A few at the meeting didn’t want the district office to be blamed for mismanagement of funds when dealing with a situation of this magnitude.
Overall, board members had different opinions about the best way to communicate the precarious position in which budget cuts have put the district. One thing all agreed on, that community buy-in is critical before the cuts are deeply felt.
Prior to the banter about communication, Assistant Superintendent Justin Frese led board and audience members through the first of the three part Budget 101 series. He began with a PowerPoint presentation which spelled out exactly where the money comes from to operate the schools. Frese defined basic aid, and then talked about the difference between restricted funds – those come with strings attached; and unrestricted funds – which have a little more flexibility. He proceeded to give a detailed explanation of income and allocations for federal and state grants and then laid out what he called his “student-centric” budget concept.
One particularly compelling slide during the student-centric section showed the breadth of services available to students ranging from traditional and alternative instruction to transportation and health and safety; food service, to cleaning and maintenance; the career center to intervention services.
At stake, any and all of those services when the more than $2 million in budget cuts come down in January.
The next two special budget meetings will be held on Oct. 21 and Nov. 17 at the district offices at 17850 Railroad Ave. For more information, call the district offices at 707.935.6000.
