AUSD Approves Master Plan

AUSD Approves Master Plan
By Miguel Gamalinda
From the March 2010 edition of the Island High School Tiki Times


After months of deliberation, planning, and community input, the Final Draft of the AUSD Master Plan was approved by the Alameda Board of Education on February 23.

The Master Plan is the result of nearly a years worth of effort by the Alameda Unified School District to help curtail spending in the light of the financial situation that has hit the State of California. California has sunk into a $20 Billion budget deficit in recent years, with that number expected to continue to grow. In an effort to close the ever-growing budget gap, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has resorted to drastically reducing spending throughout the state, including funding in all of California’s school districts. The proposed 2010-11 Governor’s budget currently show no significant increase in educational funding within the next few years, forcing Alameda and many other school districts in the State of California to reduce spending in order to stay afloat.

Included in these cuts are the possible closures of one traditional high school, one middle school, and three or more elementary schools, and cuts to arts and other extracurricular programs. According to the AUSD, this would, “severely undermine the quality of our district, the education our students receive and the economy and culture of the Alameda community at large.”

However, there is a light of hope that no cuts will be implemented. Currently, Alameda’s education is not only supported through Federal and State funding, but also through local Measures A and H parcel taxes which impose a small tax on homeowners and businesses to keep the quality of Alameda’s schools as high as possible. Measures A and H, however, are set to expire this year, and a replacement Parcel Tax Measure has been put on the ballot for this June. What occurs in AUSD schools depends on whether or not this Parcel Tax measure passes. To address the uncertainty of this issue, the Master Plan has included two scenarios based on whether or not the Parcel Tax Measure passes.

Scenario A of the Master Plan will be implemented in the event that the Parcel Tax Measure passes at the polls, and will not result in any negative effects on the District. In this scenario, the District will not close any schools or make any cuts to arts and extracurricular programs, and will redesign the District’s Central Office to ensure quality customer service to all students in the District. Scenario A will also raise the bar for academic achievement in the District, and would provide a system of attractive school options in order to better serve the students of the AUSD.

Scenario B of the Master Plan will, however, result in negative affects to the District. These include closing one of the two traditional high schools in the District (Most likely Encinal), one of the two remaining regular middle schools, and three or more elementary schools, re-assigning grade levels in order to maximize capacity to District Schools, and making cuts to arts and other extracurricular activities. Scenario B will also reduce the Central Office to the bare minimum, laying off numerous District Employees in the process. Class sizes will increase to a student-teacher ratio of 32:1 for grades K-6 and 35:1 for grades 7-12. Elementary school would be reassigned Grades K-6, Middle school 7-9, and High school 10-12, and inter-district transfers would be severely reduced to only “even out” class sizes. Up to five instructional days would also be removed from the school year and programs funded through Measures A and H would be eliminated.

Alamedans as a whole are increasingly skeptical of a new tax in the midst of a collapse in the world economy. Many citizens of Alameda are highly against approving any new tax, citing already worsening financial situations as the main root of their platform. The parcel tax will charge $669 a year for a single-family home, $189 a year for apartments and 13 cents per square foot for commercial or vacant buildings, however businesses would not have to pay more than $9,500 a year. Senior citizens will still be eligible for an exemption from the tax. In compliance with California Proposition 13, however, a 66% or 2/3 ‘Yes’ vote supermajority would be required to implement a Parcel Tax, something that will be very hard to achieve in this faltering economy.

At this point, the future of this District boils down to what the voters decide on at the polls this June. Any additional questions or comments regarding the Master Plan or the Parcel Tax can be directed to the Alameda Board of Education. Contact information for all Board Members can be found on the AUSD’s website (http://www.alameda.k12.ca.us).