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Issue 45
Give generously to HEF “Support Healdsburg Schools” campaign.
Over the years the Healdsburg School District has developed a first class
school system offering an outstanding educational experience for our
students. It has attracted an exceptional teaching staff and excellent
support and administrative staffs. The district is very proud of what it
has achieved despite the many changes in funding and statewide policies it
has had to accommodate over the past several years.
Current Budget Crisis
Funding the district’s educational programs over the last five years has
been more of a struggle than in the past. In previous years, the district
has had to adjust to the vagaries of the annual State of California budget
process but it has been able to sustain quality programs despite frequent
boom and bust years. However, last year the district faced a significant
drop in enrollment and dramatically reduced state funding. After three
straight years of severe budget cuts, the district is facing yet another
set of deep cuts. It is now cutting into many areas that had already been
reduced to their lowest levels. In some areas, the district is no longer
providing students with the educational experience they have enjoyed in
the past.
Financial Independence Needed
Healdsburg residents and parents can no longer stand by and watch their
school district so carefully built over the years now suffer so deeply
from the proposed budget cuts. It is no longer reasonable to expect that
the State can provide the level of support needed to provide the quality
school system that we have come to take for granted. The Healdsburg
community must now pull together to keep its schools operating at the
level that provides the best possible educational experience for its
students—the future citizens and leaders of Healdsburg and the country!
The community must find immediate funding to restore much of last year’s
budget cuts and to provide on-going funding to supplement the inadequate
level of funds the State can provide. The stakeholders in this effort are
not just parents – it is the entire Healdsburg community that must step
forward to underwrite our quality schools.
In the last few days, Healdsburg school parents received a flyer from HEF
(formerly the HELP Foundation) requesting donations toward classroom
assistance in the Healdsburg schools. Please look for the flyer and send
in your tax-deductible donation right away. If you are not a parent but
wish to contribute, please send your donation (made payable to HEF) to HEF,
P.O. Box 1668, Healdsburg, CA 95448. More information is available on the
HEF website at
www.helpfoundation.com.
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