In this edition ...

• From the Desk of Mr. Baier
• Board meeting review: 2025-2026 First Interim Budget Report and Budget Reductions Discussion, Special Education Update
• California Dashboard is released
• High Fives
• Thanksgiving Break

From the Desk of Mr. Baier

Dear Families and Staff Members, 

As we enter this season of gratitude, I find myself especially appreciative of the people who make MVWSD such a strong and caring community. Each day, I’m reminded of the dedication and resilience of our teachers and staff, the curiosity and joy our students bring to learning, and the unwavering partnership of our families. I’m grateful to be part of a community that lifts one another up, works through challenges together, and keeps students at the center of every choice we make. Thank you for all you do to ensure our schools are places where children feel known, supported, and inspired. Have a restful and fulfilling Thanksgiving break.

Gratefully,
Jeffrey Baier
Superintendent

Board meeting review: 2025-2026 First Interim Budget Report and Budget Reductions Discussion, Special Education Update

This year, property tax revenue growth, our main source of funding, dropped significantly. AV growth has sharply fallen from 8.79% in the last six years to just 2.34% this year, partly due to commercial property tax reassessments. The County Assessor has shared that we should anticipate 2-3 more years of the same revenue or less. Like us, school districts around us are planning for less revenue and budget reductions. 

At the same time, our expenditures continue to increase. New state-mandated programs, such as expanded Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and afterschool programs, add costs without dedicated funding. In addition, the rising costs of staffing—the staff that is critical for student outcomes—represent 83% of our budget.

This year we “weathered” the storm with our strong reserves, but we cannot continue our current level of spending without ending up in a fiscal crisis. We must act now to align future expenditures with projected revenues.

At last night’s meeting, Trustees directed staff to plan for $9 million or more in potential reductions for next year. The Board discussed making $4+ million reductions at the district office, and  $4+ million reductions from the school sites combined. This approach places a larger share of the reductions at the district level. Eliminating $9 million of the district’s $11.3 million deficit spending makes cuts that are deep enough to allow a soft landing when AV levels eventually return, while sustaining enough of our reserves for the future. The Board presentation outlined examples, types and the magnitude of the reductions we need to make. This list is “illustrative only.” These are not recommendations. 

Next steps: The Board will discuss further, and staff will bring recommendations for specific reductions to the Board in January 2026. Concurrently, MVWSD will receive Orenda program evaluation results to inform recommendations and continue to gather staff and parent input. 

We want to hear from you and learn what matters most to you. We know these conversations are not easy, but we also know we can’t continue to spend at our current rate. To protect our students’ learning now and in the future, we need to make thoughtful decisions together.

Your voice is essential in helping us understand the community’s priorities and ideas. Please click here to share your thoughts and considerations as we approach the budget reductions. Your thoughts will help inform the Superintendent’s recommendations to the Board of Trustees. We will also request your input again in January when specific reduction recommendations are available. 

As we have throughout the fall, MVWSD will continue to speak openly and honestly about the fiscal challenges we face and the possible paths forward, and we are committed to working through them in partnership with you.

Learn more: Read about the budget, FAQs , and past presentations here.

Special education update:  Staff presented Special Education trends related to enrollment and shifting disability categories. Over the past two years, we have seen a notable increase in students with more significant needs, resulting in the need for additional staff and expanded resources to support students. Please read the presentation here. 

California Dashboard is released

The state released the California School Dashboard for the 2024-25 school year on Nov. 14.  The Dashboard is a visual representation of how schools are performing under California's school accountability system. It helps parents and staff identify areas of strength and target areas that need additional support in districts and schools. 

Some of the Dashboard areas include academic performance, as well as behavior and absenteeism.  The Dashboard shows MVWSD continues to have overall high ratings in English Language Arts and Math, although many student groups - such as English Learners, Socio-Economically Disadvantaged students, Students with Disabilities and Hispanic/Latino students - are still struggling.  MVWSD’s Chronic Absenteeism rates continue to decline overall (10.9%) and are well below those of the County of Santa Clara (15.3%) and the State of California (19.4%). 

MVWSD is already hard at work focusing on the strategies to improve student outcomes. 

• Strengthening classroom instruction: Teachers use the “MVWSD Way” for lesson planning and collaboration to ensure consistent, high-quality teaching in every classroom.
  
  
• Providing early and targeted intervention: Schools use data to identify students who need extra support in reading and math.
  
  
• Improving math instruction: A new math committee will be reviewing curriculum and deepening teacher knowledge to improve student understanding.
  
  
• Reducing absenteeism: Schools are taking proactive steps to ensure all students attend regularly and feel connected to their school community.

See the data at caschooldashboard.org. MVWSD staff will present an analysis of the Dashboard indicators at a January Board of Trustees meeting.

High Fives

Music Honors

Among Graham choir students, six were selected for the CMEA Bay Section Honor Choir, and five were accepted into the CA All-State Junior High Honor Choir. Two orchestra students will be representing Graham at the CMEA Honor Orchestra at San José State. We’re so proud of all of our talented musicians!

United Against Hate

MVWSD came together to celebrate diversity, build connections, and stand united against hate, bias, and injustice as part of MVWSD’s Better Together’s celebration of United Against Hate Week! Our schools celebrated with spirit weeks, multicultural potlucks, assemblies, canned food drives, Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day and other activities—creating meaningful opportunities for students, families, and staff to discuss what it means to stand united against hate. For our Board's resolution on United Against Hate Week, please click here.

Mayors for the Day

Mayor Ellen Kamei selected the two winning Mayor for a Day essay contest entries, with one elementary and one middle school-aged recipient. At the Tuesday, Oct. 28 City Council meeting, she recognized Theuerkauf student Hannah Kirschner as the Elementary School Mayor and Graham student Ishan Kaushal as Middle School Mayor for a Day. 

Hannah wrote about making the day  “fun, free, kind, and non-judgmental.” She also wrote about wanting to give everybody a chance to express themselves without any harsh comments or judgment. Congrats Hannah!

Ishan was bestowed the honor by submitting his vision for “Mountain Go Day,”  in an essay reminding everyone not just to view our wonderful surroundings, but to go explore, go move, and go connect. Congrats Ishan!

Graham student honors

Graham student Steven Brody recently won several awards, including overall first place, at the recent Stanford University SM3 (Mini Math Meet) competition. He also competed at the Berkeley (BMT) high school math competition recently among high school students. Congrats to Steven!

Thanksgiving Break

We have so many blessings to count! Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there is no school and school offices are closed Nov. 24-28. School will resume on Monday, Dec. 1. Have a safe and restful Thanksgiving.