Superintendent Mary Jo Pettegrew believes that the innovative approach in our Strategic Plan will make our District one of the education leaders in California. The revised Plan focuses on:
· Hiring and developing outstanding educators;
· Expanding the curriculum to emphasize critical thinking skills, curiosity, and persuasive oral and written communication; and
· Improving communication with the community.
Every dollar kik raises will be spent implementing this Plan.
kik--Kentfield Invests in Kids--is the new identity of the Kentfield Schools Foundation. Each year, kik provides about $1.5 million, or 8.5%, of the Kentfield School Districtıs operating budget, giving the District the flexibility to hire and retain excellent teachers, and to provide enrichment courses that are essential to the core curriculum of our schools.
Yes! As part of a larger effort to build community support for our kids and the schools, we wanted to come up with a more memorable and friendly name. "kik" is an acronym for "Kentfield invests in kids". Many thanks to Landor Associates and Courtney Reeser, Bacich parent, for contributing the "kik" name and logo. kik serves the communities of Kentfield, Greenbrae and the parts of Larkspur that make up the Kentfield School District.
Your donations to kik allow the District to provide:
· Higher compensation to our outstanding teachers;
· Professional development for all teachers so that teachers can support the struggling student as well as the advanced student;
· Arts and enrichment classes:
· At Bacich: Art, PE, technology, music and chorus
· At Kent: Art, PE, chorus, band, dance, drama, video, architecture, woodshop, film and technology;
· Counseling; and
· Training for students in communication and conflict resolution.
In order to fill the gap in the budget shortfall we need 100% participation from every family.
We have targeted giving levels, with various incentives at each level, and we ask each family to give to the best of their ability. It may be helpful to know that the $1.4 Million that we need to raise divided by the number of children comes to $1,200 a child.
This type of financial support would allow the District to be less bound by Sacramento's budget crisis and freer to make educational decisions based upon our Strategic Plan.
We appreciate the eclectic population of our community and see this diversity as a strength. We understand that not every family can give at this level and some are able to give more. We ask that you give as generously as you can.
kik no longer uses the term Fair Share because it did not represent either the amount of money needed to educate each child, or the amount that is fair for each family. We have targeted giving levels, with various incentives at each level, and we ask each family to give to the best of their ability.
While you may have thought you were choosing a public school for your children, the government in fact, provides only a small percentage of the money needed for a quality education. For this reason, many communities across California subsidize their public schools. Our generous community funds 82% of the annual district budget. Property taxes only cover half the costs of our District. The Parcel Tax covers another 23%. Without the support of parents, Bacich and Kent would be unable to offer a world-class education. kik provides 8.5% of District funding, as much as the State provides (when you exclude property taxes).
Without parent donations, our schools wouldn't be the same, and you probably would choose to raise your children elsewhere.
Property taxes contribute about 50% of our budget. In contrast to prior years, when property taxes increased robustly each year, our property tax revenues are now flat and cannot keep up with the rising cost of salaries and benefits.
The cost of a Kentfield Schools education is a bargain, considering the prohibitive cost of private education; you would pay between $7,000 to $26,000 per child in tuition alone for a private K-8 school in Marin. Even at the highest Parent Giving levels, the cost of educating your child at Bacich and Kent pales in comparison to private schools, and we have all the advantages of sending our children to a community school! Also, your donations to kik are tax deductible--private school tuition is not.
· The PTA is a great organization, providing financial support for materials and programs.
· The PTA cannot fund salaries, however, though these costs represent 85% of District costs.
· Giving to kik is an essential part of supporting your childıs education. kik provides 9% of District funding, as much as the State provides (when you exclude property taxes). This is equivalent to funding an entire grade.
As responsible parents, we need to support both the PTA and kik.
about kik
This page, while lengthy, should give you all the information you need to better understand not only how the funding for our school district works, but what makes it unique from so many other schools in the state and country.