Trustees Meet with Legislatures to Discuss 'Local Control Funding Formula'

Information from the Dublin Unified School District--

Three members of the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees met in 
the offices of local legislators on Friday. The Trustees talked about a multitude of issues, but focused on expressing concerns about the severe impact that parts of the proposed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) could have on Dublin schools and students.

Board Vice President Sean Kenney and Trustees Amy Miller and Megan Rouse, along 
with members of other local school districts, met with representatives of Assemblywoman 

Joan Buchanan and State Senator Mark DeSaulnier as part of the California School Board Association’s Legislative Action Day.

The Trustees discussed concerns issues ranging from the rollout of Common Core Standards to Adult Education, but focused on the LCFF, proposed by Governor Jerry Brown. The current version of the LCFF will significantly impact funding coming into DUSD from the state. In particular, the Trustees spoke about the crucial need for the LCFF to provide continued funding for growth as well as adequate base funding and annual Cost of Living Adjustments.

“We need our representatives to hear from real people who are in the trenches,” said Trustee Miller. “They need to get the information directly from us, otherwise perhaps they don’t understand the full impact of decisions that are being made.”

Vice President Kenney said he thought the legislators’ representatives were “receptive” to Dublin’s concerns.

“I think they were very receptive with the acknowledgement that this is Governor Brown’s major initiative and he wants to get this done,” Kenney said. “From our standpoint, it was cordial and everybody listened. And there was agreement in the room that to do something this large, it shouldn’t be crammed into six months. It took us 30 years to get here, so let’s take the time to do this right.”

Dublin Unified is asking parents and members of the school community to contact state legislators to ask that they strengthen and adjust the LCFF to create a more adequate and equitable funding structure for schools.

Sample letters can be found at the DUSD website at www.dublinusd.org.