Budget Transparency

Marisa Janicek, the new Superintendent of Del Mar Union, launched “Shine, Shift, Dream,” a series of listening sessions to hear from students, families, staff, and community members in the Fall. One of the key themes to emerge from that initiative was the need to strengthen communication. In response, the Superintendent and Asst. Superintendent Chris Delehanty went on a Budget Roadshow this Spring educating families on the district’s financial priorities. It was refreshing to see a presentation clearly highlight the key policy choices DMUSD has made alongside their corresponding financial impact.

One of the largest budget items (nearly $1.8M) involves extra staffing to support students who need extra educational support. These funds are presumably spent on staff needed to fulfill the District’s legal obligations under, but not funded by, the federal special education law. The second largest expense is the choice to operate two schools West of the I-5 (Hills and Heights), costing $1.21M. Providing a school counselor at every school in the District (Hills and Heights share a single counselor) costs just over $1M districtwide. Class size remains a high priority and DMUSD limits class sizes in grades 4-6 to a 25:1 ratio, rather than 27:1 as required by the contract with the teachers’ union ($873K annually). DMUSD also provides all 6th graders in the district with Spanish at a cost of $432K. Finally, DMUSD remains one of a few holdout districts in the state refusing to offer transitional kindergarten to all four-year-olds. Instead, DMUSD serves families who meet the criteria of being socioeconomically  disadvantaged through a limited transitional kindergarten program, Leap Ahead, at a cost of $228K annually.