Unbounded optimism in the worst of times
This was what many of us felt on January 20th, as President Obama was inaugurated as our nation’s 44th president.

All of us at Aspire have also personally accepted both the challenges and the solutions we know are ahead. To pretend that the conditions we face are elsewhere is naïve and foolhardy. The economic situation we face in our state and in our country is up-close and personal. It is “in our face.” More students are turning in applications for free/reduced lunch, as their parents lose their jobs. We see foreclosure signs pop up on homes near all our schools. And team members become stressed when they suddenly become their extended family’s sole wage-earner.

And, to actively move forward with solutions, we must first consciously acknowledge our situation.

Let’s consider what we face in light of the President’s words.

“That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood…. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many…”

In my 40-plus years as a California educator, this is the worst budget situation I’ve encountered – even worse than the Prop 13 years. Prop 13 was relatively straightforward. The voters expressed a preference for levels of taxation, and schools and the state had to deal with the consequences. In contrast, our current weakened economy is the result of a complex set of circumstances that will take time to understand, and has few known solutions.

“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.”

Here are our challenges: At Aspire, we budgeted very conservatively for this year. We hoped this approach would provide us with a safe floor. If anything other than the worst case scenario unfolded, we thought, we’d be left with some funds to soften the blow of the following year (2009-10). Up until a few weeks ago, that was the case. Unfortunately, the State’s announcement of mid-year budget cuts has made our most conservative forecasting a reality.

What does this mean?

First, barring another crisis announcement from Sacramento, we will be stable for the rest of this year, although we are also all tightening our belts wherever we can. Next year we face significant budget challenges, and we are preparing for these challenges to be a three-year journey before we see any significant improvement.

Public education will receive less funding next year than we received this year. These reductions will apply to both school districts and organizations like ours. Currently, I anticipate the funding will be approximately $200 dollars less per pupil next year; this amounts to about $1,300,000 less to educate our students across our 21 Aspire schools.

These next few months will be devoted to a very deep analysis of how much funding we’ll receive, how much philanthropy we anticipate, how we should allocate our funds, how we can make the most of what we have …throughout the organization. We’ll be tapping into everyone’s best thinking and I’ll be working to be transparent to everyone about the process.

The biggest question that I’m asked by my colleagues is “Will there be layoffs at Aspire?” With the newspapers headlines counting the rising toll of lost jobs, and every school board in the state publicly eliminating programs and issuing pink slips, I can completely understand why they are asking.

First, a little hopeful history: we have never done layoffs at Aspire, and we are all working hard to be sure that our track record will not change this year. That said, I am urging everyone to remain very open to more variety and scope in some of our roles.

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord…”

The upbeat gene is in my DNA and I make no excuses for unbounded optimism, even in these tough times. Our performance with our students remains strong. Our charter authorizers and the communities who support our work have increasing confidence in us. And, President Obama has pledged his support for more schools like ours.

“Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.”

So we’ll continue our work. We’ll grow additional schools because it’s our mission to serve students and change the system, and families on our wait lists are depending on us in this challenging time. We’ll use our experience, our energy, our teamwork and our creativity to advance the futures of our students. And in the midst of these challenging times, great things will happen. Many of these things will be a direct result of our collective work. When I think about the fact that our first seniors to graduate Wilson Prep will graduate from college this spring, I know we have the will, skill and passion to rise to the challenges ahead. We will not only survive, but thrive, as we continue to serve our thousands of students with dreams just as big.

Don

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