Planning for the Future of MUSD
December 9, 2024
Dear MUSD Families and Staff,
Over the last few years, schools in California have seen consistent declining enrollment. As school funding is directly aligned to enrollment, this means that there is less funding to support our schools. There are many reasons for this decline: birth rates have been falling for a number of years; the interdistrict transfer rules have created a system where schools are competing for students and families who can afford to drive their children to other districts often do; and since COVID, the unschooling and homeschooling movements have gained popularity.
For a few years after the COVID pandemic, the state and federal governments poured additional funding into education; these were one-time funds intended to address COVID related learning loss. Now school funding has returned to pre-pandemic levels and the state budget was smaller than we had planned for. In order to balance our budget, we have reduced staffing across the district, which leads to larger class sizes and less support staff. Additionally, like many industries, we are working hard to keep up with wage increases and the impact of inflation on our employees' bottom line. Costs for employee benefits have also increased between 3% and 8% annually for the past decade.
So what can we do?
This is my third year as Superintendent, and I continue to learn how education works at the county and state level and that there are many things beyond our local control:
**The State Budget: Lawmakers make choices to fund certain areas of education and not others. Additionally, when tax revenues fall short like they did this year, schools are given less money that we budget for.
**The interdistrict transfer process: For a very long time, folks sent their children to their neighborhood schools. In the last decade or so, many families have used the interdistrict transfer process to send their children to schools outside of their neighborhoods. We have done a deep dive into the reasons folks leave and we continue to work to meet the needs of our community to improve the quality of education we provide. We have seen some small gains in this area, but this is slow work that will take many years.
**The increased funding for safety net systems at schools: Programs such as before and after school care, free meals, school based mental health, and social services for families receive significant funding, while funding remains stagnant for the educational component of the school day.
**The interdistrict transfer process: For a very long time, folks sent their children to their neighborhood schools. In the last decade or so, many families have used the interdistrict transfer process to send their children to schools outside of their neighborhoods. We have done a deep dive into the reasons folks leave and we continue to work to meet the needs of our community to improve the quality of education we provide. We have seen some small gains in this area, but this is slow work that will take many years.
**The increased funding for safety net systems at schools: Programs such as before and after school care, free meals, school based mental health, and social services for families receive significant funding, while funding remains stagnant for the educational component of the school day.
There are a number of things we are working on to decrease class sizes for kids, offer more competitive wages for our employees, and improve staffing at all sites.
**Bringing services back to the district from Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE). For many years, MUSD has contracted with HCOE to provide required educational services to preschoolers and students with significant challenges. We are working to bring these students back into their neighborhood schools. HCOE’s services have increased in cost significantly and the transportation of students to county services is very expensive.
**Applying for grants and other funds outside our regular allocations. We have received the Community Engagement Initiative ($140,000 over two years), The Community Schools Grant at Dow’s Prairie ($1,187,000) over five years, and the School Based Mental Health Grant ($7.2 million over five years, in partnership with two other local districts). We are also applying for an additional Community Schools Grant for MMS this year and will continue to pursue grant funding wherever we can.
**Applying for grants and other funds outside our regular allocations. We have received the Community Engagement Initiative ($140,000 over two years), The Community Schools Grant at Dow’s Prairie ($1,187,000) over five years, and the School Based Mental Health Grant ($7.2 million over five years, in partnership with two other local districts). We are also applying for an additional Community Schools Grant for MMS this year and will continue to pursue grant funding wherever we can.
In addition to all of these ideas, our Governance Team is considering the idea of consolidating school sites. We are currently running three schools at approximately 50% capacity.
Consolidation would mean that we would slowly transition the Morris School site to house Preschool, Independent Study, and District services. Over a two year period, we would shift Dow’s to be a TK-3 site, and MMS to be a 4-8 site. Our current plan takes into consideration many elements of each site, but these are a few of the most compelling:
**The Dow’s Site has the most interior hallways and many design elements that make it ideal for our youngest students. In addition, our bond funds will assist us in replacing outdated portables with updated early childhood classrooms.
**The Morris site, while beloved for many reasons, is the school site without any interior hallways. The design is very spread out with bathrooms at the far end of each hallway making supervision of the youngest students difficult.
**The MMS site also has many design details for older, larger students. The sports facilities are well developed and the bond funds will help us to redesign the bathrooms for improved safety and comfort. With the addition of earlier grades, we would likely rename this site as it would no longer be a middle school.
**The Morris site, while beloved for many reasons, is the school site without any interior hallways. The design is very spread out with bathrooms at the far end of each hallway making supervision of the youngest students difficult.
**The MMS site also has many design details for older, larger students. The sports facilities are well developed and the bond funds will help us to redesign the bathrooms for improved safety and comfort. With the addition of earlier grades, we would likely rename this site as it would no longer be a middle school.
As you can see, our enrollment has dropped significantly since the 1990’s:
| Dow's | Morris | MMS Site | |
| 1994-95 | 533 | 520 | 506 |
| 2015-16 | 410 | 370 | 376 |
| 2024-25 | 287 | 252 | 307 |
What does the proposed roll out look like?
Our proposed plan is a two year roll out that would ensure that students do not have to switch back and forth, allow us time to ensure we can absorb staffing changes through retirements and regular attrition, and give the 4-8th staff a year to plan for the addition of 4-5th graders in a self-contained setting:
| Dow's | Morris | MMS Site | |
| 2024-25 (current) | TK-2: 287 | 3-5: 252 | 6-8: 307 |
| 2025-26 | TK-3: 382 | 4-5: 160 | 6-8: 294 |
| 2026-27 | TK-3: 387 | Preschool, IS, DO Space, Grant programs | 4-8: 435 |
What happens to the Morris site?
We can very effectively redesign the Morris site to house our Special Beginnings Preschool programs, our School Based Mental Health services, District Staff offices, and our District meeting space. We are also planning to add a Long Term Independent Study program and house it at the site. If the plan is approved, we have a list of educationally adjacent organizations to reach out to for possible rentals.
As part of the bond work, we are looking into self locking gates for the playgrounds so the community and local sports organizations can use them. Other parts of the site can be leased out for commercial use as well.
What happens if enrollment goes back up?
This would be awesome. School leaders are hopeful that increases in Cal Poly enrollment, possible wind or fish farm industries, and even climate migration may bring more people and their school aged children to our area. As the Morris site will still be part of MUSD, it would be possible to reverse this process, if enrollment increases necessitate it.
What about staff?
Part of the savings of this plan is the need for fewer staff to keep fewer sites operational. Another reason for the two year roll out plan is to allow us to manage the reductions in staff through regular attrition and retirements. Even last year, a year in which we reduced certificated workforce by 8.0 full time employees, we had to hire for certain positions. Based on past data and an understanding of imminent retirements, we are optimistic we can make these shifts without layoffs.
How can you get more information, ask questions, or share your ideas?
I want to hear your thoughts, questions, concerns and input. This plan is an outline that our school board will be discussing over the next few months. At the Jan-March board meetings, I will be sharing the input of our staff, families and students with the board as we work toward a decision on consolidation. I have set up the following times to meet with anyone who would like to learn more or share their thoughts.
**Coffee with Ms. Julie–Thursday, December 12, 2024, 7-9 AM at Dow’s Prairie in the Conference Room (near the front office)
**Tea and Cookies with Ms. Julie–Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 5-6 PM, in the Morris Makers’ Lab (the hour before the regular MSPTO meeting)
**Tea and Cookies with Ms. Julie–Tuesday, January 7, 2024, 5-7 PM, at the Middle School Conference Center, at the back of the MMS parking lot
**Additionally, we will be sending out a survey for input and planning at least one, potentially two, Zoom based meetings to present more detailed information and take your input and ideas. Dates to be determined and shared via Parent Square.
**Tea and Cookies with Ms. Julie–Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 5-6 PM, in the Morris Makers’ Lab (the hour before the regular MSPTO meeting)
**Tea and Cookies with Ms. Julie–Tuesday, January 7, 2024, 5-7 PM, at the Middle School Conference Center, at the back of the MMS parking lot
**Additionally, we will be sending out a survey for input and planning at least one, potentially two, Zoom based meetings to present more detailed information and take your input and ideas. Dates to be determined and shared via Parent Square.
I know that this letter contains a lot of information and that this may come as a surprise to many of you. We shared this information with our staff members today, so they are also processing their thoughts and ideas. I want to reiterate that our current plan is a first draft. Our staff, our students, and our community will give us good input and raise important concerns over the next few months. The final plan we bring to the board will be better because of that feedback. I am committed to hearing that input and revising the plan to meet both our budget needs as well as the needs of our students, staff, and community.
In service to MUSD,
Ms. Julie
707.839.1549, ext. 1000
Parent Square: Giannini-Previde, Julie
12/13/24 UPDATE:
December 13, 2024
Dear MUSD Families and Staff,
I am following up with all of you after our initial news that we are considering the consolidation of school sites. In just a few days we have had some really thoughtful conversations with staff and families. There is plenty of input to still gather, but a few questions have come up again and again and I want to provide you with additional information as we continue the conversation.
Why didn’t folks know about this sooner?
This is a pretty new idea. Our Chief Business Official and I have been digging into our finances for months–trying to find ways to keep our programs running, provide all the extras folks have become accustomed to, and pay our employees a fair wage. In hard budget times, this is no small task.
We have tossed this plan around for a few months internally. We knew it would be a very big deal for our staff and families and we wanted to think through as many details as possible before we shared it as a possibility.
As part of that planning, we knew that the passing of the Bond and the approval of our School Based Mental Health Grant would make this plan work more effectively. Once those two things were a go, we felt comfortable sharing this possibility and starting to get feedback from you on it.
What is the Governance Team?
The Governance Team is our School Board and Superintendent. The School Board is an elected group and they have one employee, the Superintendent. It is the job of the School Board to set the direction of the district, to provide oversight of our budgets, and to hire/evaluate the Superintendent. As superintendent, my bosses are the School Board. It is part of my job to make sure that they understand what is going on in our district and to get their input on any major action we take. They have directed me to get input from all of you about this possible solution to a very serious budget situation. We will need to decide in the next couple of months whether we address our budget shortfalls with budget cuts or consolidation. I am working to provide the board with information about both routes and share the feedback you are providing.
Some feel it is already a done deal, why bother giving feedback?
This is a draft plan, nothing has been decided. The budget cuts we would have to make to balance our budget are significant enough that this seems like a better plan to me. But we have to decide together. Your input is vital. As we will do everything we can to keep the process transparent and open.
Why send 4th graders to the middle school?
For years, the middle school has been the source of negative talk about our schools. There is no final decision on which grades are going where…but these are some of the things influencing our thinking around 4th and 5th grade:
--Redesigning the MMS Site. For many years there has been negative feedback about the middle school model. This is an opportunity for our community to come together and redesign the MMS Site. What do we want it to look like, how can we take the best parts (a beautiful gym, science labs, a robust music and art program, counseling and support, a full PE department) and work on the rest? What will it look like to have our 4th and 5th self contained classes separate from the rest of the site? How can we set up positive mentorship between our middle kids and our big kids. What might a 4th-8th sports program look like? We have ideas, we know many in the community do as well and if this is the direction we decide to go, it might be pretty exciting to rethink the MMS site together.
--Instructional Minutes: 4th and 5th grade require a different number of minutes per school day than TK/K or 1-3. At Morris, our 4th and 5th are pretty close to that minimum number. TK-3 could easily be on the same schedule, but 4th at Dow’s would have to be on a different schedule and possibly a different bus schedule.
--Bus Overcrowding: Our TK-4 students are more likely to use our buses than our older students. Having six grade levels at Dow’s, especially the ones that use busing the most, would create a bottleneck for busing.
--Permanent Buildings vs. Portables: Our portables are aging. Part of our Bond work will be to remove the really old portables and keep kids in permanent buildings which are cooler in the Fall, warmer and drier in the Winter, and more comfortable overall.
--Instructional Minutes: 4th and 5th grade require a different number of minutes per school day than TK/K or 1-3. At Morris, our 4th and 5th are pretty close to that minimum number. TK-3 could easily be on the same schedule, but 4th at Dow’s would have to be on a different schedule and possibly a different bus schedule.
--Bus Overcrowding: Our TK-4 students are more likely to use our buses than our older students. Having six grade levels at Dow’s, especially the ones that use busing the most, would create a bottleneck for busing.
--Permanent Buildings vs. Portables: Our portables are aging. Part of our Bond work will be to remove the really old portables and keep kids in permanent buildings which are cooler in the Fall, warmer and drier in the Winter, and more comfortable overall.
Why not a TK-8 or two?
This is an option that comes up often. It is also cited by many as a reason for leaving our district. We have discussed this possibility and have a few concerns that we haven’t been able to overcome:
--How would we choose which site kids attend? A split by geography almost certainly brings up issues of equity and fairness especially related to socio-economic status. Would a lottery be better? Perhaps, but what about neighborhood friends or cousins being able to attend the same school?
--When we had two K-5 sites, we dealt with a lot of rivalry between the two. There were both real and perceived inequities that created conflict between members of the community, staff, and kids. Were we to split the community into two TK-8 sites, we are pretty certain one would become the “good” school and one would become the less desirable and that this would divide us even further.
--When we had two K-5 sites, we dealt with a lot of rivalry between the two. There were both real and perceived inequities that created conflict between members of the community, staff, and kids. Were we to split the community into two TK-8 sites, we are pretty certain one would become the “good” school and one would become the less desirable and that this would divide us even further.
What about the Bond?
The Bond issue is to update our schools. We have roofs to fix, classrooms and bathrooms to modernize, plumbing and irrigation systems to fix, safety improvements to add, and technology upgrades that are needed. These things need to happen whichever direction we go. The consolidation idea may allow us to repair all sites, but focus the modernization efforts on two of them. And bond funds, by law, cannot be used for staff salaries.
What about the middle school site parking lot?
We know this is a concern. Should the consolidation plan be the direction we go, redesigning the traffic flow or discussing dismissal schedules would be part of the work of our teams to prepare for more folks at dismissal.
How can families have a voice?
Yesterday morning we had a Coffee with Ms. Julie option at Dow’s Prairie. Three parents attended and had really great ideas, questions and input. Here are more options:
Family/Caregiver Survey: CLICK HERE (also sent out via Parent Square)
MUSD Regular Board Meeting, Friday, December 13, 2024, 6 PM at the Middle School Conference Center, at the back of the MMS parking lot. This meeting is our organizational meeting, once 2025 meeting dates are determined, we will share them out on the website and via Parent Square.
Tea and Cookies with Ms. Julie–Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 5-6 PM, in the Morris Makers’ Lab (the hour before the regular MSPTO meeting)
Tea and Cookies with Ms. Julie–Tuesday, January 7, 2024, 5-7 PM, at the Middle School Conference Center, at the back of the MMS parking lot
Our team will meet on Friday, 12/13/24 to Zoom meetings. We want to organize them to ensure that the meetings are small enough for folks to get their individual questions answered, so potentially by grade levels. Once we schedule these, we will send them out via Parent Square.
Please also feel free to reach out to me directly. I’m happy to schedule a time to talk via phone, Google Meet or in person. 707.839.1549, ext. 1000 or [email protected]
Our board members are your representatives as well. You can speak with them at board meetings, but you can also reach out to them directly. Sometimes a thoughtful email can be very impactful as the board member is not on the spot and they can really carefully consider your input:
--Board President Alvin Sager: [email protected]
--Board Clerk Tracy Helard-Shumard: [email protected]
--Board Member Laura Holt: [email protected]
--Board Member (as of 12/13/24) Keri Lockard: [email protected]
Respectfully,
Ms. Julie
707.839.1549