Jill Wynns for School Board
Finance and budget
Jill is a recognized expert in the complex and little-understood area of school financing and budgeting.
- Jill chaired the SFUSD Budget Committee for six years, and served on the Committee for ten years.
- Jill continues to participate in Budget Committee meetings in years when she is not a Committee member.
- Jill was a key developer and supporter of the Weighted Student-Formula and Site-Based Budgeting for San Francisco schools.
- Jill played a key role in developing and passing five school bonds, a facilities parcel tax, a unique local school sales tax, the ground-breaking city set-aside for schools and pre-school, and a parcel tax to support teachers and other employees in San Francisco.
- Jill is a leading advocate for adequate school funding in California.
- Jill initiated and co-chaired the California School Boards Association's School Finance Project that resulted in the Rand Corporation's study of administrative spending in California.
- Jill is a member of the Council of the Great City Schools School Finance Task Force monitoring school finance developments across the country.
- Jill will work to bring in more money for our schools, by forming partnerships with local foundations and donors.
- Jill will seek more money from the state, including working on a lawsuit against the state demanding adequate funding for K-12 education.
For every decision made by the Board of Education, the bottom line is the bottom line; without fiscal solvency, the district can and will be taken over by the State of California, as has happened in Oakland, West Contra Costa (Richmond), Vallejo, and Emeryville. The state currently provides only the bare minimum required by law to fund our schools, but expenses continue to rise while revenue is declining. Unlike the City, which can simply raise fees or taxes to generate more money, school districts have no control over the amount of funding they receive from the government. When funds run short, districts are faced with a choice of either trying to reduce spending, or trying to obtain additional new funding streams.
San Francisco receives less private support than any other major city in the country, yet we are home to some of the wealthiest foundations and individuals. We must work more closely with potential donors to build their confidence in our school system and encourage their financial support. Our solid record of improving achievement for students overall must be reflected in higher achievement for underserved groups such as African American, Latino, and special education students. The district's Strategic Plan will focus on providing the extra help these students need to share in the achievement gains of our district. Donors who support achievement for all students across the board will feel renewed confidence in the SFUSD's ability to serve all of its students well.
At the same time, the state of California must not be allowed to shortchange our students through cuts to education funding, while claiming to be increasing education spending. California ranks consistently below average in per pupil spending. The California School Boards Association and the Ed Coalition have talked of bringing a lawsuit against the state to force it to fund K-12 education at an adequate level, and SFUSD should join in.
We must continue to make the most responsible decisions on how we spend what meager resources we have. While it sounds reasonable to insist that all cuts be kept as far from the classroom as possible, in fact this policy sometimes has the unintended consequence of making things in the classroom worse. For example, cuts to the management of Student Nutrition Services over the past 10 years have resulted in a department so understaffed that there is no one to go out to the schools on a regular basis and monitor how the food is being prepared and served. Problems with food which could easily be corrected on a site visit may continue for weeks until a parent complains, and during that time, students may choose to skip school meals entirely, resulting in hungry students who are in no condition to stay focused in class and learn. Budget cuts to the Educational Placement Center have resulted in less staff to promptly handle parent requests for information, more chaos and confusion, an unreasonably long timeline for assigning students to schools, and an unsatisfactory outcome for many families going through the assignment process.
In order to remain solvent, there can be no budgetary sacred cows. We are currently facing the most severe budget crisis in recent memory. With no expectation of a Rainy Day Fund to bail the district out in 2009-10, and a grim outlook on funding from the state, all possible options must be put on the table. School board members must be prepared to make the tough decisions required by tough financial circumstances, with the understanding that every potential cut is going to anger someone, and that every reduction in staff or services eventually does impact the classroom.
As the State of California prepares to redesign the way it funds schools, Jill's expertise and experience in budgeting and finance are needed more than ever. Jill will represent the interests of our students and our school district to make sure that SFUSD can afford to provide a world class education for every student at every school.
Keep the Experience We Need for Our Schools
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