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DR. LEVINSON’S LETTER TO GOVERNOR DAVIS (8-Apr-2003)
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April 8, 2003

Dear Governor Davis:

I am the Superintendent of the Tamalpais Union High School District, a 3800 student basic aid district in Marin County. Our district serves students from ten K-8 elementary districts, six of which are also basic aid districts.

I’m writing once again to ask you to rescind your proposal to seize 85% of our property tax revenue in excess of our revenue limit. If implemented, this proposal would result in a loss of over $6.5 million to our district. Coupled with the loss of the $120 per student basic aid allocation, our revenue for the 2003-2004 school year would be reduced by close to $7.0 million, or 20% of our total budget!

As a result of these proposals, our Board has had no choice but to issue termination notices to 26 temporary teachers, notices of possible layoff to 30 probationary teachers, notices of possible layoff/reassignment to 24 management positions and on April 29, notices of layoff/reduction in work year or hours to 29 classified employees.

The impact of these layoff notices, and the proposed budget reductions in supplies, materials, and equipment is having a substantial impact on our students, staff, parents and community. They know that the impact on the program for students will be substantial: higher class sizes, fewer elective opportunities, reduced extra curricular activities, sharply curtailed programs of support for students at risk, and substantially less support for classroom teachers.

Our community is outraged that basic aid districts are being treated so poorly. No revenue limit district in California is being asked to sustain such an extreme loss of revenue. Our district is prepared to sustain our share of the budget cuts needed to solve California’s budget crisis, even though our “fair share” reduction will result in a 2003-2004 school year deficit in excess of $1 million.

We are not prepared to dismantle our outstanding educational program for students. We ask you to rescind your proposal to seize basic aid district property taxes as soon as possible, but certainly prior to the May 15 statutory deadline for certificated layoffs.

We ask you to fulfill your inaugural promises to make education your highest priority (first term) and to create 500,000 jobs (second term) by rescinding this ill advised proposal. You can do no less for the students in California’s sixty basic aid districts.

Sincerely,William Levinson Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

cc: Board of Trustees
Senator John Burton
Assemblyman Joe Nation
Education Secretary Kerry Mazzoni

MORE from the Superintendent’s Office on the fiscal crisis

Fiscal crisis info (12-Apr-2003)
>> Dr. Levinson’s letter to Gov. Davis
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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/

IMPORTANT DATES
March 4: BOARD WORKSHOP
The Board will review budget reductions recommended by staff, students, parents, and community members.
March 6: SPEAKER
Secretary of Education Mazzoni will be speaking to Marin County on Thursday evening, March 6, at 7:00pm in the San Rafael High School auditorium.
March 11: BOARD MEETING
The Board will take action as needed on approving notices of possible layoff to certificated staff, including all certificated administrators.
April 8: BOARD MEETING
The Board will review the administration’s recommendations on classified staffing reductions.
April 29: BOARD MEETING
The Board will take action as needed on approving notices of layoff to impacted classified staff.
May 15: Final date for approving certificated Reduction in Force
June 24: Approval of the 2003-2004 school year budget.