In this update I will cover the following in detail:
- Brief Update on BAC (Budget Advisory Committee), COC (Citizens Oversight Committee - Measure G Bond) and Other Related Financial Concerns.
- Helpful Parent Resources. These resources focus on the challenges of parenting in our ever-changing digital and tech world, and the impact on children’s health and learning. They are particularly relevant and beneficial for helping our children thrive.
The following are important reminders:
- Next board meeting today Tuesday Sep 10 6pm at the DO. Agenda here. Speaker card here. Zoom link.
- List of all upcoming board meetings here. I am currently in the process of uploading recent board meetings to YouTube to ensure they are preserved beyond MHUSD's 30-day deletion policy.
- Next BAC meeting (information here). Sep 19 2024. Location at the DO. Time 6pm. NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC.
- Next COC meeting (information here). December 5 2024. Location TBD. Time 12pm.
1- Brief Update on BAC (Budget Advisory Committee), COC (Citizens Oversight Committee - Measure G Bond) and Other Related Financial Concerns:
It’s important to explain why I, along with so many other parents, remain persistent—and why this should matter to every parent in MHUSD.
Under Dr. Garcia’s leadership over the past 3 years, MHUSD board has placed us on an incredibly unstable financial trajectory, with over $16 million in annual deficit spending and facing over $26 million in cuts over the next three years. This matters to me and to every parent in Morgan Hill greatly because every poor financial decision made in this room has dire consequences for our children’s education, future, and well-being.
That said, the Budget Advisory Committee discussions remain closed to the public, leaving the strategy, direction, and outcomes uncertain. Important questions, like the cost of hiring MGT consultants to facilitate this committee, still go unanswered. Lack of transparency is a common theme.
In addition to BAC concerns, I have recently been appointed as a member of the Citizens Oversight Committee (COC) for Measure G bond. I attended my first meeting on September 5th at Britton MS, and I would like to share an important and concerning takeaway that I will share with the board later this evening as well.
The committee was very receptive to questions from new members, which I greatly appreciated. However, it became evident that MHUSD board has historically approved all capital projects, whether funded by Measure G bond or State Bond reimbursements, without requesting a comprehensive cost analysis or considering the impact on the district’s operating budget.
Many of these construction or capital projects coming up for approval have staffing implications, which can have long-term effects on our budget. I made an update on some of these projects in this update here. The district’s current unbalanced budget, with nearly 90% allocated to operational costs, underscores the need for more informed and intentional decision-making.
The fundamental question that needs to be asked for any upcoming project is whether it will add costs or provide savings to the district’s operating budget.
On today’s board meeting agenda (September 10, 2024), several additional capital projects are listed. It is critical that this board takes action by requesting more comprehensive cost impact analyses and addressing the ongoing budget imbalance.
Regarding other financial concerns, two items on today’s agenda stood out to me, and I plan to address them later this afternoon.
Upon closer review of the SACS report attached under Agenda item K-3 as part of the approval request for the 2023-24 Unaudited Actuals, I find it very concerning that all revenues are consistently negative while expenditures continue to increase.
Specifically, under the Services and Other Operating Expenditures (a catch-all expense bucket) section of this SACS report (page 4), two budget categories—5200 (Travel and Expenses) and 5300 (Dues and Memberships)—are projected to rise in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24 by 36.5% and 14.3%, respectively.
The question becomes why are we still spending nearly $500k in Travel and membership dues in time of financial crisis?
On the same page, Budget code 5800 (Professional/Consulting Services and Operating Expenditures) shows a reduction of 18.6% from last year. However, I notice an amount of $39,600.00 for a contract with Cruz and Associates to provide leadership training to members of the Morgan Hill Education Community as a line item on August 2024 contracts to be ratified by this board. (here is an older update expanding on redflags specifically with Cruz and Associates contract amounting $144K).
The question remains: why are we not providing guest speakers and leadership training in-house during a financial crisis where we are operating with a deficit exceeding $16 million and facing more than $26 million in cuts over the next three years, which will have dire impacts on our students, teachers, and school staff? The reduction to Budget category 5800 should be 100%, meaning $0 allocated instead of the current $8 million allocation.
Regarding Agenda item J.1.C, the list of contracts totaling about $1.4 million includes yet another Cruz and Associates leadership training contract amounting to nearly $40,000 as I mentioned earlier. Additionally, there are four-line items for contracts with McKim Design Group, presumably funded by the Measure G bond. However, it is unclear whether the McKim Design Group contracts, totaling about $250K, are for full-service projects or if they only cover construction planning and design consultation, as indicated on their website.
- Does this mean we should expect additional line items for future contracts to cover the actual physical construction?
- Given our current financial climate, was there a more cost-effective strategy that could have been considered?
2- Helpful Parent Resources:
I want to share an important issue that my husband and I have been grappling with when it comes to our children. We live in a tech-dominated world where smart devices are an integral part of our daily lives, essential for communication, collaboration, and even learning. While I recognize the necessity of technology in today’s society, I am also acutely aware of its more recent history and the growing body of research that highlights its negative impact on mental health, particularly for young people.
Handheld smart devices have certainly brought the world closer together, but they’ve also created a direct access point to every person using them. Now, not only do we have the world at our fingertips, but the world also has access to us. This reality leaves me in a constant state of conflict about how to handle smart devices with my children, starting with something as simple as screen time for watching shows.
We’ve witnessed firsthand the addictive nature of screens, social media and the mental dependency they can foster in not only children, but also adults. While limiting and regulating screen time is certainly a step in the right direction, it raises a larger question: what happens when it’s time to decide on buying an iPad or, later, a smartphone for the kids?
Though this may seem like a distant concern, I believe the choices we make now, and the strategies we establish early on (within our households or even in our broader community), will largely shape the long-term outcome. It’s like steering a large ship—small adjustments can have a huge impact on the overall course and final destination. In the same way, being intentional about how we approach screen time and technology with young children can significantly influence their relationship with these devices as they grow older.
Recently, I listened to an episode of The Daily by The New York Times that addressed this topic during my commute, which gave me more insight. Additionally, I’d like to share a helpful resource from a fellow parent in our community who is deeply engaged with this issue and brought it to my attention. I personally found it to be valuable information.