Additional $36,000 in funding cuts to West Portal
SFUSD uses the Weighted Student Formula WSF to determine the annual budget for every school. WSF is based on various factors taking into account students/teacher ratios. If this budget does not meet the minimum (floor plan), the district allocated West Portal $50, 000 for us to meet the minimum budget. This was our preliminary budget which was based of a projected total enrollment of 534 students.
There is another budget adjustment after the “10 day count”(the amount of students registered at our school on the 10th day of school). Our “10 day count” was 533 students, one student lower than the projected (we are over the projected right now) so the $50, 000 (floor plan allocation) was re-adjusted to $15,000 because our teacher/student ratio changed.
In the Spring, when preliminary budgets were being formulated, WP projected about 355 K-3 students (similar weights). This meant 17.75 or 18 teachers. The 10-day count showed 354 K-3 students (though more have been added since then), meaning 17.7 teachers, or about 18. But this fall, they are not "rounding up" and instead only calculating 17.7 average teacher salary. The loss of funding means we don't have enough to pay for every teacher's salary. We are using our LEP and School Improvement monies to pay .8 of that 24th teacher's salary. The consequence losing -$36,000 include losing a .5 ELL para, scrapping our homework center for targeted kids, and shifting a larger portion of our clerk's salary to the Parents Club.
The WPPC Board urges parents to speak up about
district practices that are hurting our kids by decreasing the amount
of funding available to schools. At West Portal, the way the Weighted
Student Formula, which sets the total funding for teachers,
administration, support staff and supplies, is being applied means we
don't have enough to cover a teacher for every classroom and a
full-time clerk in the office (other sources, including the Parents
Club General Fund, are covering the difference). We are losing a .5
paraprofessional and terminating our Homework Center due to lack of
funds.
What can we as parents do? Let Superintendent
Ackerman and the SFUSD School Board know that you know what's going
on and you won't stand for it anymore. Make the following
points (these were all discussed at the
Nov. 3rd WPPC Board
meeting):
1. Parents want a WSF that fully funds a teacher for every classroom,
even if that classroom is not up to capacity. There should also be
enough for a full-time principal and secretary, plus supportive
personnel appropriate to the needs of the school. This should be
automatic.
2. The 10-day cut-off for determining final student
population is unrealistic. Parents believe that schools should be
paid for every student they have, no matter when that student is
enrolled in that school.
We urge EVERY parent at West Portal
to speak up, even if it's just a quick phone call to Commissioner
Mar, or an email to Superintendent Ackerman. We hope every School
Board member hears from us!
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman: askarlene@sfusd.edu
SFUSD School Board Contact Information
Parents can contact school board members by calling the Board Office, 241-6493 or emailing them to the following addresses:
Mr.
Eric Mar, Esq.
President
e-mail: emar@sfusd.edu
Mr.
Norman Yee
Vice-President
e-mail: yeen@sfusd.edu
Mr.
Eddie Y. Chin, J.D.
e-mail: echin@sfusd.edu
Dr.
Dan Kelly
e-mail: dkelly@sfusd.edu
Ms.
Sarah Lipson
e-mail: slipson@sfusd.edu
Mr.
Mark Sanchez
e-mail: msanche@sfusd.edu
Ms. Jill Wynns
e-mail: jwynns@sfusd.edu