Superintendent's Letter to the Community

Superintendent Kirsten Vital's Letter to the Community

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March 8, 2012

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Dear Alameda Community Member,

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Happy Anniversary Measure A! Today marks exactly one year since Alameda citizens and families voted overwhelmingly to pass Measure A, with 68% voting yes.? By raising local revenues for our schools that cannot be taken by the State, Measure A has allowed us to protect our core educational priorities from unprecedented cuts to school funding made in Sacramento in recent years.? We remain deeply committed to transparency regarding how we are spending those locally funded Measure A dollars as well as with all of our educational, budgetary and operational successes and challenges.? Over the past year, we have made efforts to expand our communications about all matters of public interest in our schools.

Public Transparency and Opportunities for Communication

We will strive to continue to let you know all we can about what is happening in the District in personal conversations, in meetings, and electronically.? Those interested in a regular community bulletin can sign up to receive updates via email or RSS feed by clicking on the appropriate links in the ?Stay Informed? box in the center of our website?s homepage at http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us/

In general, our website is the single best place to find information about AUSD.? Whether one is seeking information about the general direction of the District, student achievement results, the status of negotiations with our employee bargaining units, how we are spending our Measure A dollars, our latest budget figures, issues heading to the Board of Education, the latest news from our schools, the status of our facilities, or just about anything else, the answers are very likely to be on our website at http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us/?

Here are a few links where to find information on topics I am most frequently asked about.

State of the District

Recently Board President Margie Sherratt presented the ?State of the District? to the Alameda League of Women Voters.? Her report provided an overview of our successes and challenges and can be found on our Latest News page: http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us/index.php/home/latest-news/273-state-of-the-district-ppt

Labor Negotiations

The latest news about labor negotiations, answers to frequently asked questions, and public records related to negotiations are posted on our Labor Negotiations page:? http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us/index.php/home/labor-negotiations

Measure A Implementation

The agendas, staff reports and minutes for the public meetings of the 11-member Measure A Oversight Committee meetings (including reports showing how the District is spending Measure A funds in compliance with the terms of Measure A) are posted on the Oversight Committee?s page on the AUSD website: http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us/index.php/board-of-education/oversight-and-advisory-committees/measure-a-oversight-advisory-committee

Upcoming Second Interim Budget Report

At our March 13^th Board meeting, we will be presenting our ?second interim? budget report for this school year showing budget projections for the next three years as required by the State.? That report will show some very worrisome information about how State budget cuts will affect us over the next three years.? It will be posted by close of business on Friday March 9th under ?Documents? on our Board Agenda and Documents page: http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us/index.php/board-of-education/agendas-a-minutes

We will account publically for every penny of the second interim budget report. In other presentations to the Board in April and May, we will be presenting the information from the second interim through different lenses.? For example, we?ll review the budget by categorical resource, by school site and by unit.?

We will continue to keep you updated with information. On behalf of the students, teachers and staff of AUSD, I would like to thank Alameda for all the extraordinary support so many in the community continue to give to our schools year after year.?

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Sincerely,

Kirsten Vital

Superintendent of Schools

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Source: http://alameda.patch.com/announcements/superintendents-letter-to-the-community

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