Dear Union School District Families and Community Members:

As many of you are aware, Union School District is one of the highest performing districts in San Jose. Our eight neighborhood schools help define and shape the quality of our community. Sadly, however, given woefully inadequate funding that persists at the state level, our district, like many others, must turn to our community to find ways to address this problem locally.

It is our duty to keep you informed as we plan ahead to ensure high quality education for years to come. This is why Union School District is investigating ways to increase revenue. The level of school funding provided by the state of California is one of the lowest in the nation. USD is also the lowest funded district in Santa Clara County. We continue to need local funding to fill in the gap and to ensure we maintain our excellent programs. Fortunately, local voters have generously supported USD with school funding measures, voting to pass Measure B, a parcel tax, in 2010 to protect and maintain the local quality of education.

Measure B, approved for 10 years, will expire after the 2026 school year. Measure B cannot be extended without a new vote of Union School District voters. Accordingly, our Governing Board is exploring an ask of our community to renew Measure B, with a modest increase so that we can protect this critical local funding source and continue to maintain the high quality of education offered in Union School District schools. Without the renewal of Measure B, about 1.3 million dollars will disappear from existing local USD school budgets. Our local TK-8 schools may have to make reductions to academic programs and increase class sizes.

As we continue to evaluate the possibility of placing a renewal measure on the ballot, we want to hear from you. Please let us know your thoughts and questions through the survey on our website.

Your input is very important to us. Thank you for your continued partnership in support of our children’s education and our community.

Sincerely,

Dr. Carrie Andrews

Superintendent


LEARN MORE AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AT WWW.UNIONSD.ORG/SURVEY