Livermore schools receive a lower base revenue limit than nearby districts who compete for the same teaching talent. This is how this situation came to be....

In the late 1960s, Livermore schools unified.

In 1972 school districts' revenue limits were established in California. These limits were based on the value of taxable property in the district.

Federal property , such as LLNL, do not generate tax revenue. In general, agricultural property generates lower revenue than other types of property.

In the late 1980s, the State of California gave financial incentives to districts that unified so as to save administrative overhead. Neighboring districts such as Pleasanton and Dublin took advantage of these incentives, resulting in significantly higher base revenue limits. These incentives were not available to Livermore since we had already unified.

What does this mean for each student in Livermore schools? Less revenue. For Livermore schools, this means MILLIONS of dollars less per year to educate the same number of students. Here's a comparison:

................Base Revenue...... API
District .......per Student ......Scores
Dublin ..........$5,611........... 781
Pleasanton ......$5,299 ...........841
Berkley .........$4,918 ...........719
Hayward .........$4,667 ...........623
Oakland .........$4,646 ...........568
Livermore .......$4,597 ...........769

For more information on finance and budgets and what you can do improve this situation:

• Livermore Legistative Education Group (LLEG)
  LLEG (http://lleg.org) is seeking fair funding for schools through legislative reform. Learn about the current budget issues affecting Livermore Schools. Turn your awareness into action.

• Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE)
  Financial Statistical Reports 2001-2002 (most recent available) ( PDF )

• Livermore Schools: Shortchanged?
  Why the Livemore Valley Joint Unified School District is at a financial crisis. (PDF link)
  Reprinted from Caring About Livermore Newsletter, Aug.03

• Open Letter from Rebecca Hudson, Board of Trustees, on the proposed school closure issue
  February 6, 2004
  (PDF link)

• Overview Presentation: Why are Livermore Schools in such trouble?
  Presentation in MS PowerPoint
  Presentation in PDF