The e-mail from the Superintendent sums it up:
November 4, 2009
A Message From Dr. Craig Baker,
Superintendent
San Carlos School District
The Budget Crisis
I’m writing to tell you that last night, the San Carlos School District Board of Trustees met to discuss our current and future financial situation, which, unfortunately, has taken a turn for the worse. In addition to the State funding reductions we have already suffered over the last two years, the district will now need to cut $1.4 million from next year’s budget and maintain that reduction for at least an additional year. This we must do in order to remain fiscally solvent. While we always expected to make additional cuts for next year, the enormity of the required cuts is significantly greater than anticipated.
There are many factors that have brought us to this budget crisis, the three most significant are:
- Additional state reductions
- Lower enrollment than anticipated
- Under-projection of special education costs
If you would like to see more details regarding the budget crisis and its impact on the district, I encourage you to look at the district web site: http://www.sancarlos.k12.ca.us.
I realize that this news is disheartening to us all. I want to assure you, however, that we are on top of and I am actively managing this budget crisis. Now that we have uncovered all aspects of this crisis (which I truly believe we have), it is time to focus our collective energies on moving forward and solving this problem, while ensuring accountability for every dollar spent along the way. This is a key responsibility of mine and of the Board of Trustees, which I take most seriously.
We must and will surmount this challenge. District staff and I will be working tirelessly, and in collaboration with the community, to maximize the resources we have, and to assess and prioritize the programs and services needed to ensure the best possible educational experiences and outcomes for each and every one of our students.
Finally, I want you to know how important it is to me that the entire San Carlos community be communicated with continuously and transparently, and so I pledge to keep you informed, send periodic listserv postings, and I will schedule meetings at your school sites as often as needed or desired. Please keep an eye out for all these forms of communication from me and my staff.
Yours Sincerely and Optimistically,
Craig Baker, Ed.D.
Superintendent, San Carlos School District
This is a very serious situation, and will require us to look immediately at all areas of spending. We need to work collectively with our community and our staff to come up with solutions, many of which will be painful. But through it all, we must remember that our goal is to minimize the impact to our students. I will obviously keep everyone informed.
