Hello Belmont-Redwood Shores Community,
 
This update includes:
 
  • Revised County Health Order
  • Timeline for BRSSD Plan to Reopen Schools
  • Budget Update

 
Revised County Health Order
Yesterday, the County Health Department issued this press release summarizing the latest revisions to the Shelter in Place order.  Childcare programs and summer camps must keep cohorts of children together for 3 consecutive weeks (formerly 4 weeks) before children can switch programs.  Places of worship may resume services with restrictions and safety plans, and retail operations may allow customers inside with similar restrictions and plans, though curbside pickup is preferred.  Beaches may operate normally, with everyone expected to follow face covering and social distancing guidelines.  Last, guidelines for car parades and protests are provided.  
 
 
Timeline for BRSSD Plan to Reopen Schools
Our administrative team is beginning to receive the outline for County guidelines for the reopening of school in August.  The public document with specifics is anticipated next week.  What we know is that schools will be required to provide social distancing between students and staff alike, students and staff will be asked to wear face coverings, and we will be expected to keep groups of students and teachers together in consistent cohorts and minimize mixing students and teachers.  
 
To allow for social distancing, our classrooms will only be able to accommodate half of their normal capacity (12 to 15 students, rather than 25 to 30).  This will necessitate something like an A/B grouping, in which students go to school half as often as they typically would.  For our K-5 and K-8 schools, students would be assigned to self-contained classrooms as normal, and we would likely divide each class in half (an A group and B group).  The frequency of the turn-taking between the two groups would be determined by the County Health Officer’s guidelines and stakeholder input (staff and families).  It might be as frequent as an “A” morning group and a “B”  afternoon group, or as infrequent as an “A” week of school followed by a “B” week of school.  
 
For Ralston Middle School, we expect more significant adjustments in order to keep groups of students and teachers together.  While we anticipate more flexibility than exists currently for childcare programs and summer camps, Ralston teachers will only be able to work with one to three classes at a time, rather than a traditional schedule in which students take 7 classes at a time and teachers are responsible for 6 classes at a time.  
 
As the County’s guidance becomes more formal over the course of next week, we expect to generate program options that we will share with the staff and with the Board at the June 4 board meeting.  On June 5, after receiving the Board’s guidance, we will share our thinking and models with the BRSSD community and solicit feedback.  Depending on board guidance, stakeholder input may take the form of a survey, an advisory committee, and/or a task force.  At minimum, I expect that next week, I’ll be sharing our possible program models with you and soliciting your feedback via a survey.  
 
We will aim to use staff and parent input to inform our program design and our planning with employee groups so that we have a clear outline of our 2020-21 school program by the end of June.  We understand that both staff and families will need this information as soon as possible to plan for work and childcare.  
 
Regardless of the competing interests, our planning will be driven primarily by staff and student health considerations.  Student and staff safety comes first, and then we will provide a quality education to our students, doing our best to address the interests of our school district stakeholders.          
 
 
Budget Update
Our school district budget will be approved over the course of two board meetings on June 4 and 18.  Here is our CBO’s budget presentation for the June 4 meeting.  Due to the State’s expected 10% reduction to public school funding, we are having to reduce our school district budget by 7% or $3.5M from this school year to next.  Thankfully, we have strong local property taxes that will protect us from taking the full brunt of the 10% cut.  Beginning next year, we project that our school district will be funded primarily by property taxes (known as being community funded or “basic aid”).  Normally, the State provides supplementary funding to BRSSD’s portion of local property taxes to meet the State’s guaranteed educational funding level per student.  With the 10% cut, the State’s minimum guaranteed funding is projected to be $1.8M or 3.6% below our property tax revenue.  So for the foreseeable future, we expect our schools to be “community funded” by property taxes without any significant supplemental state funding.  
 
As May draws to a close, SchoolForce has just one more month to raise funds for the coming school year to soften the impact of decreased funding Sacramento is proposing for our schools. Together, we have the power to do better for our schools. Let’s come together to make a difference for our kids. Please contribute what you can, the amount that works for your family. 
 
 
As we approach the last month of the school year, I would like to thank the entire BRSSD staff for their efforts to continue our educational program.  Moreover, I recognize that at-home learning has put considerable burdens and pressures on our BRSSD families.  Thank you for your partnership in supporting your student’s education.  Your comments and questions are welcome as always.  
 

Sincerely,
 
Michael Milliken
Superintendent


Suvarna Bhopale | Amy Koo | Samuel Leinbach | Jim Howard | Rahila Passi
Board of Trustees