Mission | Vision | Values | 2008-2009 Goals

 District News

Student Calendars
For quick reference and printing, we're providing student calendars in pdf format. Click on the links below to get the current school year or 2008-2009.

2008-2009 Student Calendar

State Budget Proposal and the Impact on the Wright District
You may have heard that the Governor has proposed cutting $4.8 billion from school funding for next year.  This would have a significant impact on schools throughout the state.  According to School Services of California this amount of money is equal to shutting down every school across the state for nearly one month, or laying off more than 107,000 teachers, or cutting more than $24,000 per classroom. Currently California is ranked 46th in the nation for per pupil funding.  This means that there are only four states in the nation that allocate less money per student than in California. This is before this proposed budget cut.

How would these cuts affect the Wright District?  Based on information we have received from the State and the Sonoma County Office of Education, the proposed cut equates to approximately $775,000 less in revenue than what we currently spend  to run the same programs that we have this year. The proposed budget cuts are equal to eliminating class-sized reduction in our primary grades. If we were to do this the primary grade classrooms would have up to 28 students instead of a maximum of 20. Alternatively we could layoff approximately 13 teachers.  Neither of these is acceptable to the District.  It is also important to know that the District will need to make very difficult budget decisions in May and June at a time when the State budget is yet to be adopted and final. Currently there are estimates that the State budget will not be finalized until August or September due to the difficult decisions that have to be made by the Governor and state legislators.

How do we plan for this degree of budget cuts?  Quite frankly, this is very difficult to do.  Over the last eight years, there have been very lean budgets where many cuts were made.  There is a not a lot we can take off that will not have direct impact on the educational program offered to students.  We will certainly be reviewing all expenditures and attempting to make reductions that meet current State projections.  In spite of these lean budgets, our schools are doing very well with test scores rising and our District being recognized for the work we are doing with our students.  This year, the Wright District has been recognized as one of the top districts in the state in working with English Learners, Robert L. Stevens School is up for the California Distinguished School Award, and J.X. Wilson School has been nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Award.  We want to be able to continue the good work we are doing. What can you do? If you have thoughts and/or concerns regarding the state budget and its impact on schools, you may want to contact our local legislators below.

Interest in Wright District Foundation?
Over the last year, the Wright District has been looking at the possibility of starting up an education foundation that can help support programs that we believe are vital to the education of our students, yet are often not able to be supported through funding we receive from the State.  These may include art and music, physical education, technology, and counseling.  With the potential cuts on the horizon for next year, a foundation takes on even greater importance.  It should also be noted that our District has participated in and benefited from the Schools Plus Foundation that has served most Santa Rosa area schools for the past 17 years.  However, diminishing support for Schools Plus has resulted in less money coming to our schools also.  Although, we greatly appreciate the $500 that each school received this year, in the past it has been up to four times as much, and the future of Schools Plus is questionable.

This is the prefect time to get our own non-profit foundation started.  Foundations do not interfere with the work of parent booster organizations at each school because they focus on district-wide needs and look toward businesses and agencies within the community for funding. There are many businesses within the Wright District that might be very willing to assist the district financially if they knew what the needs are. We are looking for a core group of community members who are willing to work toward putting a foundation together.  There are very good resources available as well as many other local foundations which are willing to guide the process. It would be ideal to have a couple of representatives from each of our schools as well as some businesses on the foundation.  Please consider helping get a foundation off the ground.  If you think you can spend a little time to benefit our students, or know someone who can, contact the superintendent, Casey D’Angelo at 542-0550 or cdangelo@wrightesd.org and let him know.  Thank you.

Kindergarten Registration
Children who will turn 5 years old on or before December 2nd can now register for Kindergarten for the 2008-09 school year.  Please contact the school in your neighborhood.  If you have friends or neighbors with children that age, please encourage them to register.  For registration, you will need the child’s birth certificate, immunization record, and two current proofs of address.  These could be any bill, rental agreement or mortgage statement.