Tag Archives: Denair Unified School District

Free After-School Snack and Supper Program Begins Monday

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A free after-school food program for any child 18 and under will be unveiled Monday by the Denair Unified School District. Children do not have to attend Denair schools to participate and there is no income or other eligibility restrictions.

“Just show up and we’ll feed you a delicious, nutritional meal,” said Billy Reid, Denair’s food services director.

The program will be offered from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Denair Middle School cafeteria. The menu will change daily, Reid said, and will be different from what is available at lunchtime.

Reid describes it as a “supper and snack” program because for some children, it may serve as the heartiest meal before bedtime. Main courses will include hamburgers, burritos, pizza and chicken nuggets. Fresh fruit and vegetables will be available. Refreshments will include juice and milk.

The food is paid for through a grant from the Federal Child and Adult Care Food Program targeting at-risk youth. Reid emphasized, however, that anyone under 18 from the surrounding community is welcome to participate. He has room for up to 600 children and expects 100 or more to take advantage Monday when hamburgers, vegetables and fruit will be served.

The grant requires an enrichment activity be shared with children and their parents, and Reid said there will be flyers and other items available emphasizing the importance of good nutrition.

The after-school program is separate from the free breakfasts already served each morning, Reid said. About 100 Denair students participate in that program, but there is room for more, he said.

For more information about the after-school program, call (209) 632-7514, ext. 1243. You can download a flyer for the Supper Program here.

DUSD Enrollment Decline Slowing, but Still Affects Budget Outlook

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Santa made a brief appearance at Thursday night’s meeting of the Denair Unified School District school board. If there was one thing school officials could wish for this Christmas, it is more students.

Trustees heard an interim budget report from Chief Business Officer Linda Covello, who shared that the district remains on track to meet its fiscal targets this school year, largely due to a one-time $500,000 infusion of state funding to its $13 million budget. But lurking on the not-too-distant horizon is a sobering reality: Unless the district can begin to grow enrollment again, there may be some difficult financial decisions to make.

Total district enrollment this school year, Covello said, is 1,316, a 2% decline from the previous year. The loss of students has dramatically slowed from a few years ago, when the rate was as high as 11%. The trend is critical because enrollment is at the heart of how the state calculates Average Daily Attendance, or ADA. Each student is worth roughly $8,000 per year in state funding.

“Our decline is getting better, but we’re still going down,” Covello said. “The middle school is pretty much stable. We have declining enrollment at the high school and growing enrollment at the elementary school.”

Part of Covello’s responsibility is to project three years out. Right now, her forecast is for the district to creep back into deficit spending in 2016-17 and 2017-18 because of fewer students and higher mandated contributions to state retirement funds. Even under those scenarios, Denair still would meet the state requirement to have at least 3% of its budget in a reserve fund. Continue reading “DUSD Enrollment Decline Slowing, but Still Affects Budget Outlook” »

Community Turns Out to Oppose Proposed School Territory Change

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Submitted by Denair Unified School District

A passionate, purple-clad audience of more than 200 Denair residents, parents and students turned out Wednesday night with a common goal: convince a group of county leaders to leave school district boundaries in place and deny a Turlock developer’s attempted land grab.

At stake is more than $1 million in onetime development fees, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in state funding based on student attendance.

But more than money, what was clear in more than 2½ hours of public hearings in Denair and Turlock was the pride the Denair boosters feel for their schools, their teaching staff and their community. Many portrayed the boundary petition by home builder Ron Katakis as a thinly veiled attempt to diminish the quality of education received by Denair students and enable him to increase the price of his homes.

Denair superintendent Aaron Rosander captured the emotional pitch of the David vs. Goliath situation that pits Denair Unified, its 1,300 students and $9 million annual budget against Turlock Unified and its 14,000 students and $136 million budget.

“Small schools matter. Rural schools count. This is truly about small schools that make a positive, powerful and long-lasting impact on children,” he told the 10 county schools committee members to loud applause.

Katakis’ proposal involves about 91 acres at the corners of Tuolumne and Waring roads. The property is about a half-mile from the Denair schools complex on Lester Road, but more than two miles away from the nearest Turlock schools.

The land has always been within the Denair district, but Katakis petitioned the Stanislaus County Office of Education to move it to the Turlock Unified School District, claiming homeowners will likely identify with Turlock because the new neighborhood lies with the city limits. Continue reading “Community Turns Out to Oppose Proposed School Territory Change” »