I hope everyone is having a peaceful and contemplative Martin Luther King Day.

This Wednesday the Washington Central Unified Union School District (WCUUSD) School Board will consider approving a budget to send to voters on Town Meeting Day. The meeting begins at 6:15 at U-32, and public comments can be made shortly after we convene. Additionally, after the presentation of the slightly revised budget, there will be a Community Q&A section for attendees to ask questions of the Board and Administration. I would strongly encourage those interested to attend in person if possible, but the meeting link to participate by zoom is here: https://tinyurl.com/bduhp355

It continues to be a struggle to contain the costs of our usual level of services. Our administration, however, has taken a new approach to budgeting this year which in my opinion is practical and transparent--the feedback we have received from the public reflects their support as well. Some expenses like facilities food service, technology, transportation, and special education are being fully managed and budgeted on a district-wide basis now. After those services are accounted for, each school was allocated a dollar amount per pupil to allocate based on their specific and programmatic need. Schools have built a budget based on this amount per pupil.

Local Education Spending is increasing by $2,023, 509, or 5.92%. This increase comes from the significantly higher cost for certain district expenses like health insurance coverage for our staff. (Our most recent budget presentation, which summarizes the budget and the process, is available here: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1734555106/wcsu32org/ojg1er9wwfo6tl0dlmps/FY26Budget[...]pdf

If you have specific questions about the effects of this budgeting practice on the district generally, or on Calais in particular, please come to our meeting and ask those questions. The full agenda for the meeting is available on our website here. https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1737140399/wcsu32org/qi1sslxehjbng6kq2p4z/12225WCUUS[...]pdf I'm happy to speak directly to anyone as well.

Thanks for reading
Daniel

Event Info

Jan 21, 2025, 5:15 PM

Jan 23, 2025, 3 to 6 PM

Jan 25, 2025, 10 AM to 3 PM