Dear MTUESD Community,
The MEASURE A parcel tax has been approved by the county supervisors to be placed on the ballot. This is an opportunity for our local residents to vote on whether they want to provide a $65 payment once a year for four years to support academic intervention, smaller class sizes, increase safety and supervision, maintain sports programs, and other essential services at MTUESD. With declining enrollment, the district is in a very tough budget position and cuts for the coming year are coming. This measure would allow us to maintain current critical service levels.
The election is May 6. It is a mail in ballot. How can you get involved?
There is a meeting scheduled for January 30 at 5:00 p.m. in the MT school library. Please come visit with us for 30 minutes and learn more about the measure and possible opportunities to support it.
A fact sheet will be going out soon. It is very important that voters in Copperopolis and Angels Camp understand that our school system is funded differently than Vallecito and Bret Harte. MTUESD does not get the benefit of a tax base that turns over with frequent property sales and reassessed valuations which bring income to the schools. Both of those are great school systems, but they benefit from a different structure that we cannot access. If we want our kids to get the skills to be on level when they get to Bret Harte, we need to invest locally in our kids. Voter registration forms are available in each school office. We would appreciate your signing up if you are not a registered voter. One or two votes can really make a difference. Even if you do not own property in the district, you can still vote on MEASURE A.
At the board meeting last Tuesday evening, layoff resolutions for 9.8 Certificated positions were passed. I do not expect that we will have to take that many, but we do have to create the seniority path for teachers to move back into other positions. This is the worst part of my job. Please know that we are doing everything possible to retain services and I'm very proud that the board is giving the voice to the local community to provide an opportunity for funding. A lot of people are looking at this Measure A $65 parcel tax payment as “donating a pizza for kids once a year”.
There is a senior citizen exemption, so if someone you speak with is reluctant to vote for it because they are on a fixed income, you can remind them that the exemption is available. We will also have a citizen committee that will make sure we are spending this properly.
I’ve only been with you five months. I hope you can see that things are different. I’ve heard the stories of past bond measures not being passed because people say that things were promised that weren’t delivered more than 25 years ago. Folks, all I can say to you is your kids are getting left behind. School systems need to be locally funded in addition to state funded. It can either happen to property taxes or other measures. I can’t fix income. Only YOU can fix income.
In other news, the Copperopolis beams were x-rayed to see if the original four foot long bolts were installed. We found that the bolts were installed, so the failure in the lamination is a separate issue. We are working on a fix for that and hope to get it installed shortly.
The refresh of the MT track is scheduled to start next week, weather permitting. The playgrounds at both sites are in progress. Copper will be first. The start date is February!
Progress reports were sent home. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE and be involved with your students. We have opportunities for after-school support, so reach out to your student’s teacher if you feel they need help and let’s see what we can do. We also can always support getting you logged onto Infinite Campus as well. Stop by and talk with our site secretaries!
We have a new grant-funded intervention teacher, Jennifer Landry, starting with us this week at Mark Twain. This is a position funded by the K-16 grant that needs to include high school peer tutors. We are excited to welcome her. Bret Harte students can earn minimum wage and work with us DURING THEIR SCHOOL DAY. Refer students to me or Ms. Landry!
Chris Vetrano and I just finished the ONEROUS Community Schools Grant application. This is a long-shot but it is worth our effort. She is meticulous and takes my raw passion and outrage and tones it down to an effective application, so we are a good pair. We will keep you posted.
Please remember no school this Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Enjoy your three-day weekend!
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290
Every Student. Every Day. Every Possibility.