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Dear Etiwanda School District Community,
As you know, in response to the state fiscal crisis and the deep and sustained cuts to K-12 education, the Board of Trustees of our district suspended home-to-school transportation for regular education students in the Etiwanda School District for 2010-11. The suspension of transportation, along with equally devastating teacher and support staff lay offs, elimination of administrative positions, employee pay cuts, furlough days and cuts to student programs, enabled the district to close a budget gap of nearly $15 million over the next three years.Etiwanda parents, students and family members are doing their part to make the transportation suspension work. Families have formed car pools, students are walking and biking to school. Everyone is focusing on the safety of students as they arrive and depart from school campuses. The District is truly grateful for the sacrifices and for families learning a new way of getting students to and from school.
There is one more thing parents and community members can do to help. The formula used by the state of California to fund student transportation is out of date and unfair. The formula has not been adjusted for increases to student enrollment since 1980. Our District is receiving substantially the same funding in 2010, when we have over 12,800 students, as we did in 1980 when we had only 576 students.
Therefore, we are requesting our parents to take action. For your child and our schools - now is the time to act! Please take a moment to contact your state assembly member and state senator, urging your representatives to create a new transportation funding formula that is fair and based upon current enrollment You can use the form at the bottom of this page to assist you in creating letters for mailing.
Please be assured that the Board of Trustees and the District administration will continue to review and consider all available options to address this budget crisis. While our economic resources are being diminished, our dedication to provide an outstanding education for our children has not. We will rely on our traditions of teamwork, proactive planning and focusing on the needs of our students to find solutions to the impact of this state crisis.
Sincerely,
Shawn Judson, Ed.D.
Superintendent
