Marin County

Is this the news you expect in the tenth year of an economic expansion?

Statewide cost indices showed Marin County ranging from 106% to 157% of the California state average. The selected MIT Living Wage Index showed Marin at 123.8% of average, implying a 23.8% regional cost disadvantage created by a uniform school funding mechanism.

Increasing Marin school districts’ LCFF target funding (less any excess local property tax revenue, typically so-called ‘basic-aids’) suggests that specific districts are experiencing approximately the levels of financial pain shown below (above and beyond the general pain 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.

Wonder how districts are educating their communities and taking action? See Redwood City's flyer here.

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

MARK LEVINE Assembly District 10 https://a10.asmdc.org/ Capitol Office: Room 5135P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0010; (916) 319-2010 District Offices: 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 412, San Rafael, CA 94903; (415) 479-4920 ; 11 English Street, Petaluma, CA 94952; (707) 576-2631; 50 D Street, Suite 301, Santa Rosa, CA 95404; (707) 576-2631
Twitter: @MarcLevine

MIKE MCGUIRE State Senate District 2 https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/ Capitol Office: State Capitol, Room 5061, Sacramento, CA 95814-4900; (916) 651-4002 District Offices: 3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 425, San Rafael, CA 94903; (415) 479-6612; 50 D Street, Suite 120A, Santa Rosa, CA 95404; (707) 576-2771; 200 South School Street, Suite F, Ukiah, CA 95482; (707) 468-8914; 1080 Mason Mall, Suite 4, Crescent City, CA 95531; (707) 464-1255; 1036 5th Street, Suite D, Eureka, CA 95501; (707) 445-6508; 885 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport, CA 95453; (707) 468-8914
Twitter: @ilike_Mike

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