Private Monies Restore Moraga School Programs

The Moraga school district governing board unanimously approved rescission of layoff notices and reduction of hour notices Monday night that had been sent in the spring. As loyal Lamorinda Patch readers will recall, with uncertainty on the state level and final private donations still coming in, the last spring as part of its legal requirement to define a balanced budget. 

Speaking on behalf of the district, Superintendent Bruce Burns expressed “heartfelt thanks for the creativity, hard work and determination of the many groups involved in raising additional funds to benefit the district.”

The Moraga Education Foundation’s final gift to the district totaled $1.03 million. The May campaign brought an additional $180,000, with monies being received up until the final days of June.

The combined Parent Teacher Associations made an additional $111,792 gift to the district over and above the funds already committed to support the district’s programs.

In all, the district received just over $1.5 million dollars in private funds.

Board member Kym Leserman said that “the PTAs and MEF have gone above and beyond in raising funds for our children.” Board member Kathy Ranstrom added, “The state of California has let down public school children on every level. I feel so fortunate to live in a community that steps up – from parents to businesses to community members.”

The funds allow reinstatement of the following by MEF:

• Physical education teachers restored to 1.6 full-time equivalent for kindergarten through fifth grade. 
• Librarians restored to 3.2 full-time equivalents for kindergarten through 8th grade.
• Funding of the kindergarten through third-grade reading tutors.

 The PTAs' donations allow reinstatement of the following:

• Reinstatement of the Kids Connect program, .84 equivalent
• Kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers, .23 of a full-time equivalent
• Technology coordinators, .73 full-time equivalent
• Substitutes for the reading tutors
• Reinstatement of the Math Boost program
• Support for electives at the intermediate school
• Support for the student programs, including anti-bullying, at the intermediate school

In a separate agenda item, the district reviewed the impact of the state budget passed in June. The current district funding is predicated on state funding level with last year’s. However, automatic reductions will come into play should the state revenues fall $2 billion below expectation. At that point, the district’s budget will be cut in the middle of the school year.

Reductions are based on the drop in state revenues. The reductions would impact revenue limits (the amount of funds received from the state) and transportation funds. Depending on the trigger, the cuts could be up to $1.9 billion in public education. The board cannot act on this information at this time. More information will be available in November.