Office of the Superintendent
(415) 945-3720

LETTER TO PARENTS & COMMUNITY MEMBERS (29-Jan-2003)

As you know, California is facing a huge budget deficit. Governor Davis has submitted proposals to the state legislature for next year’s state budget which, if implemented, would have a disastrous impact on the Tam High School District students, staff and community.

Tam is one of sixty districts in the state (including Reed, Sausalito, Larkspur, Ross, Bolinas-Stinson and Nicasio) that are “basic aid” districts. As a basic aid district, the state provides a $120 per student “basic aid” payment each year (about $440,000). Because our revenue per student from local property taxes exceeds our state determined revenue limit per student, we receive no revenue limit payments from the state (state aid). Instead, we keep all school property taxes to support our school program.

For the 2003-2004 school year, Governor Davis proposes to eliminate the $120 per student basic aid allocation (a loss of $440,000) and to capture 85% of the district’s local property tax revenue beyond our revenue limit. This would result in an additional loss of $6.5 million.

While the district can absorb the loss of the $120 basic aid allocation as our “fair share” contribution to solving the state’s fiscal crisis, it cannot accept the loss of property tax revenue as the results would be catastrophic — almost 20% of our projected $35,000,000 budget.

The consequences to our program for students would be substantial as we would have to eliminate as many as 83 positions, raise class sizes, reduce elective opportunities and eliminate numerous essential programs and services. No revenue limit district in California is being asked to sustain such an extreme loss of revenue and program.

We cannot permit the state to take this action. We need your help. The Tam Board is asking staff and parents to take action immediately to contact our elected officials (Gray Davis-Governor, Joe Nation-Assembly, John Burton-Senate) and insist that they support the immediate removal of the property tax proposal from any consideration. The decision-makers must know that taking property tax revenues from basic aid districts is unacceptable and has the potential of destroying some of the very best districts in the state.

Please take time to e-mail, call or write Governor Davis, Senator Burton and Assemblyman Nation. Please do so as soon as possible as the legislature is about to begin discussions on next year’s education proposals.

For additional information, including talking points, please see the links below. Please feel free to contact me directly blevinson@tuhsd.marin.k12.ca.us.

Sincerely,
William Levinson Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Susan Schmidt
President, Board of Trustees

See also:
Sample letter
Key contacts in Sacramento
Talking points
more info on Basic Aid & the budget crisis

MORE from the Superintendent’s Office on the fiscal crisis:

Budget info (14-Feb-2003)
- Letter to staff, parents & community
- Parent/Student/Community Resident Response form
- Basic Aid Backgrounder: Letter from Bolinas-Stinson Union School District Trustee
MORE fiscal crisis info (29-Jan-2003)
>> Letter to staff, parents & community
- Talking points
- Sample letter
ALL fiscal crisis info…

KEY CONTACTS IN SACRAMENTO
These are the telephone, fax and mailing addresses of key officials. Faxed or US-mailed LETTERS rather than emails are preferred.

Governor Gray Davis
c/o Michael Bustamante, Deputy Chief of Staff
State Capitol Bldg.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

Secretary for Education Kerry Mazzoni
Office of the Secretary for Education
1121 L Street, Suite 600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-323-0611
Fax: 916-323-3753

Senator John Burton
State Capitol Bldg., Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-1412
Fax: 916-445-4722

Assemblyman Joe Nation
State Capitol, Room 3013
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-319-2006
Fax: 916-319-2106

Email addresses (note that faxed or US-mailed letters are preferred):
Governor Davis: governor@governor.ca.gov
Joe Nation: joe.nation@asm.ca.gov
Senator Burton’s website: http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/burton/