BCAC Members and Community Friends,

Your ballots are in your hands, and so is the decision on who will lead the Berryessa Union School District (BUSD) .  So we want to  encourage you to attend the Oct 14th Candidate Forum starting at 7:00PM at the community center (3050 Berryessa Road).  

There is still time submit questions you would like the candidates to answer.  You can contribute questions to Susan Fowle (fowle1234@comcast.net) and she will ensure the source is anonymous. There is current information on the BUSD website (Berryessa Union School District – Board of Trustees) that can orient you to the roles/responsibilities of the leadership team.

A BUSD Trustees have a daunting assignment – address an array of challenges, absorb significant information technical information, engage with the public/parents/unions – as they deliberate and decide.  Here are some things that might trigger questions that you would like the candidates to answer.

• Revenues – over $91M for 2023/24 with over 90% of the funding coming from the State of California
• Expenditures – over $100M for 2023/24 with over 91% funding salaries and benefits.
• Structural Deficit – since 2018 the BUSD has closed the year in the red and the leadership knows that “…that structural deficits that need to be address by subsequent budget reductions…”
• Declining Enrollment challenges, not just the BUSD, but area wide schools.  The declining population of children in our area has many sources, and the decline is expected to continue.which created the pressure to close some district schools.
• Lower Funding of BUSD relative to other elementary school districts in the area makes the budget challenges harder.  BUSD $11,347 vs Palo Alto $23,785.

Being there is important!  All the candidates see is the audience,and they hope it is large and engaged.