Election Section

Community Should Support Measure B: By JOHN SELAWSKY

COMMENTARY
Friday September 24, 2004

Over the last four years the Berkeley School Board and Berkeley Unified School District have made cuts and adjustments to the district’s budget amounting to about $12 million. These cuts were made necessary by a variety of factors, including past mismanagement, declining enrollment, double-digit increases in healthcare, retirement benefits, and workers comp, and, most significantly, reduced state funding of our public schools. Every part of our school community has made sacrifices in order to get our financial house in order, and as a result the Alameda County Office of Education has just recently given BUSD a positive budget certification after a successful three-year recovery plan. 

Public education is under attack by many forces; inadequate state and federal funding, layers of compliance requirements and mandates, most unfunded, and an escalating neglect for the educational, emotional, and health needs of too many of our children. Children come into our kindergartens with wide disparities in academic and social preparedness, and more and more frequently with nutritional and health issues as well. There are real economic and support gaps which contribute to an academic achievement gap. There are less and less district, city, county, state, and federal funds available to address these disparities because of other national and state priorities (remember, about 75 percent of local school district funding comes from Sacramento). 

We have the opportunity here in Berkeley to do again what we have so consistently and selflessly done many times before: to pick up the challenge presented by these circumstances to support our local schools and our own children. This, after all, is their future, which is our future as well. Measure B, on the ballot in the Nov. 2 general election, would add these services and programs to our Berkeley public schools: 68 percent of the measure’s funds to reduce class size and expand course offerings (about $5.5 million, or at current salaries/benefits, 72 additional teachers) 16 percent of the measure’s funds for full staffing of district libraries (about $1.2 million) seven percent of the measure’s funds to fully restore music in elementary and middle schools (about $550,000) seven percent of the measure’s funds to program evaluation and professional development (about $550,000) two percent of the measure’s funds to parent outreach and translation services (about $150,000). An independent citizen oversight committee is charged by the measure with accountability and reporting duties. Most Berkeley residents will pay between $150 and $200 per year in special assessed taxes to pay for Measure B.  

None of these programs and services are frivolous or unnecessary. All the funds go directly to classroom needs or services to improve instruction and information. I am proud to live in Berkeley, and even prouder to represent Berkeley as a school boardmember, because of our consistent support for essential community needs. Certainly, there is no more important need than the functioning of our public schools, and the uninterrupted services and programs they provide to all our youth. Please join me and many, many others in supporting, working for, and voting for Measure B.  

 

John Selawsky is president of the Berkeley School Board. ›