Alameda County

Are these really the headlines we want to see about Alameda schools?

Statewide cost indices showed Alameda County ranging from 106% to 121% of the California state average. The selected MIT Living Wage Index showed Alameda at 109.4% of average, implying a 9.4% regional cost disadvantage created by a flat school funding mechanism.

Increasing Alameda schools’ LCFF target funding suggests that specific districts are experiencing approximately the levels of financial pain shown below. This is above and beyond the general pain in schools described in West-Ed’s “Silent Recession”.

Across the high-cost counties we’ve reviewed, this pain is generally reflected in multiple measures including less-experienced staff, higher staff turnover, less support staff, fewer enrichment programs (unless supported by external funding sources), perennial budget shortfalls, lower reserves, larger schools, larger class sizes, lower salary structures, antagonistic relationships between trustees, parents, unions, and staff. It is often worse, however, in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, since the fixed Federal free-or-reduced-price-lunch cut-off excludes many high-needs students from LCFF student-need supplementation who are experiencing housing-cost related poverty.

Reach out to us here to put together information for your community!

Time to make an imPACT!

Please contact your state legislators. Here is the state search tool to find them. Their details are below. Rally friends to make a bigger imPACT!

Email is nice -- tell them how your school is hurting and how you want them to “support a regional cost supplement to the Local Control Funding Formula in the May Revise.” (They’ll be impressed.)
A phone call is better -- ask their office if they are supporting a regional cost supplement for your school district -- share a personal story and tell them where they can find more information (here!) if they ask.
Tweet to your representatives -- ask if they will stand up for your schools and your students and support a regional cost supplement! Tag #MakeAnImPACT and @EducateOurState
Fax your legislators' offices -- phone calls and faxes are always heard. Get your friends to all do it together for a bigger imPACT.

Now dig deeper! Whom do you know in the Education Community? An education researcher at Cal, Stanford, UC Irvine, UCSD or USC? A school board member? Send them an email, too, and link to this site. We need to influence the influencers!

Still willing to work to help your kids, grandkids, neighborhood kids AND the kids on the other side of the tracks in your county? Please, put this on Facebook and Twitter, talk at your school PTA meeting, address your school board. We are here to help -- just reach out to us here and let us know.

WRITE, EMAIL, TWEET and CALL

State Legislators

BUFFY WICKS Assembly District 15 https://a15.asmdc.org/ District: (510) 286-1333 Sac:(916) 651-4009 District: 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2201, Oakland, CA 94612; Sacramento: State Capitol, Room 5160, Sacramento, CA 95814
Twitter: @BuffyWicks

ROB BONTA Assembly District 18 https://a18.asmdc.org/ District: (510) 286-1670 Sac:(916) 319-2018 District: 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2204, Oakland, CA 94612; Sacramento: State Capitol, Room 2148, Sacramento, CA 95814
Twitter: @RobBonta

NANCY SKINNER State Senate District 9 https://sd09.senate.ca.gov/District District: (510) 286-1400 Sac:(916) 319-2015 District: 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2202, Oakland, CA 94612; Sacramento: State Capitol, Room 5094 Sacramento, CA 95814
Twitter: NancySkinnerCA

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