Questions of Inequity in Distributing the Ross Valley School District Bond Money

The following open letter was written over the last few days regarding issues of perceived (and perhaps actual) inequity in the proposed distribution of . The intent of this letter is not to create divisions within the district, but to serve as a call for greater transparency and better communication.

How can there be informed or wise choices, or knowing what is what, unless information is shared in a timely manner? I would suggest that people DO come to the Manor facilty planning meeting tonight, Monday, Dec. 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room and to Board meeting Tuesday evening. Perhaps we can all find out the why's and wherefore's of the proposed allocations, and to make sure that is being well-represented. Please, come with an open mind, willing to hear, understand, and go along with the reasons and plans, and also to be able to stand up and say, no, we need to work on this some more before moving forward, if it appears that other plans would be more beneficial.

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We, as members of the Manor and RVSD community, are a little taken aback at the apparent lack of equity expressed in the current proposal for bond money distribution, facilities improvements and expansion needs. We are asking the board to explain how it is that Manor School, with as much need for capital improvements as the other three campuses in San Anselmo, is only getting approximately 12% of the available funding, and not closer to 25%? Can you please explain this to us? We realize that we are one community and that educating all of our children is really important. Short of a really great explanation (which we are open to, and looking forward to hearing), we are asking that a more equitable distribution be created than the one currently proposed.

If we compare the various sites and populations, it would appear that Manor, currently with 12% of the four elementary schools’ share of funding, has been rather neglected in the current proposal. While we can appreciate the time and work which has gone into these plans, we can not agree to them as they are. Bond money and site improvements do not happen every year and our communities will have to live with the end results for many years.

During the long effort that led the previous school district board to where we are now, many people in the community added input about needs for their particular communities, but often were not present when others’ community needs were addressed. This has led to a perceived disparity between various schools’ improvements in the final plan now emerging.

At a recent district board meeting, the newly seated board chose not to vote on a design plan for , which included a new library, new kindergarten and regular classrooms, expanded parking, new bathrooms, and enhancements to the recreational areas. Parents in the Upper Brookside area were understandably excited by the plan, referring to the final version under discussion as “the gold version."

A number of Manor parents in the room, still present after the swearing-in of new board members, were concerned at the disparity with what they saw and what Manor school was getting. Manor is slated to get three classrooms (two regular and one “prefab”) from the recently passed bond.

Manor currently has both a library and a multipurpose room, which are undersized, two kindergarten classes in regular rooms, and a blacktop area which is falling apart. None of this is being addressed currently. While Manor parents have been understanding about there being limited funds available and keeping requests at a “bare bones” level, seeing the “gold level” being considered for other schools feels very unfair.

Throughout the process, information about budgets and design latitude has not been at all forthcoming, with evasive, partial, and misleading responses to questions, especially from the project manager. It is difficult to trust that every school is being treated fairly, especially when the process is not transparent.

We need to work together and remedy this perceived and/or actual disparity fairly, as a community. All of our schools, and all of our children deserve to be represented well, and well represented, as do all citizens and parents of San Anselmo AND Fairfax.       

-- Sierra Salin, with input from several other members of the community....