Dear OUSD Families and Staff,
I
t is hard to fathom that the 2019-2020 school year is ending in just two weeks. Our teachers, staff, and principals deeply miss our students and are thankful for the kind messages they have received from children and parents/guardians expressing the same. I wish you and your family good health now and in the months ahead, and I thank you for staying informed by reading my newsletters and emails. I want to take this opportunity to thank parents/guardians of our eighth grade students for supporting their children and our Orinda USD schools throughout their child(ren)'s elementary and middle school years. As their sons and daughters matriculate to Miramonte, I will be rooting for their continued success.
The Coming Storm: Big Budget Cuts for Orinda USD
Gov. Newsom's
May Budget Revision
proposes devastating cuts to public education due to the impact of COVID-19 and sheltering in place on the state's budget. While he includes some options to mitigate the impact of this recession on students, the proposals in totality represent a seismic reduction in public education funding. The May Revision includes a 10% reduction in the expected 2020-21 per pupil funding.
In addition to this dramatic cut in revenue, the state will defer funds to school districts throughout the next two years, requiring Orinda USD to use reserves to cover payroll and other obligations. We have convened a task force of teachers, staff, parents, and administrators to examine every aspect of our budget and recommend a prioritized list of budget reductions to achieve over $2 million in savings. These cuts will be painful, as the majority of the budget (80%) funds our employees' salaries and benefits.
Read more
to learn about the Orinda USD Budget Reductions Task Force.
Preparing for the 2020-2021 School Year
At this time we typically work simultaneously on completing the current school year and planning for the next one. While we have begun preparing for 2020-2021, we are still waiting to receive definitive information from our state and local government and health sources about the protocols we will be expected to follow to keep students and staff safe in the fall. Our educational program could include in person learning at school, distance learning, and/or a combination of the two. I am convening a 2020-2021 School Year Advisory Group comprised of teachers, staff, parents, administrators, and students that will meet regularly to determine how we can implement public health recommendations to keep our students and staff safe in reopened facilities. This group will discuss a number of topics related to providing our children with the best education possible in a safe environment. Topics tackled will also include cleaning protocols, medically fragile children and staff, teacher training and support for distance learning, student intervention, students with special needs, student and staff social/emotional health, technology access for students and staff, and others.
I will survey our community during the next two weeks to gather data that will inform our decision making about the 2020-2021 school year. I thank you in advance for your participation.
Shelter-in-Place Challenges:
Lyrics Challenge
What a talented group you are! It was a very tough decision, and I loved every entry. Here are your Shelter-in-Place lyrics challenge winners:
Student: Tie! MINA L. / EVAN M., NICK E., and SAM
Parent: JUSTIN COLE
Family: THE SEGALL FAMILY
Staff: Tie! MS. PEERS (Sleepy Hollow) / MR. JACKSON (OIS)
To watch all of these fabulous videos, click
here
.
Photography Challenge
The next creative challenge to parents/guardians, staff, students, and community members is to submit photos that reflect experiences associated sheltering-in-place, distance learning, etc. These photos can be funny, serious, and/or otherwise creative and should be related to life or activities experienced while sheltering-in-place. One entry per person, please. Email your entry to me at cseaton@orindaschools.org by
Friday, May 29
. Include the photographer's name and whether he/she is a student or staff member (include school), parent, or community member. I can't wait to see the submissions and will share some of the most impressive entries in the next newsletter.
