FAQs
What is The YES Foundation?
YES is the non-profit education foundation for the Ross Valley School District that raises money to fund critical programs at the five RVSD schools (Brookside, Hidden Valley, Manor, Wade Thomas, & White Hill). We also play an important advocacy role in the District to support arts education as a core curriculum element. Curious how your child's education is funded in the Ross Valley School District? Jump down for details.
What programs does YES support?
YES funds high-quality instruction for art, music, theater productions, library books, and middle school special interest clubs. Learn more here.
How does YES raise funds?
This year YES will raise approximately $1 million for our schools through Book Fairs, Business Partnerships, Corporate Matches, Parties with Purpose, Annual Family Giving and Shop for YES.
Why do our schools need this funding? Isn’t public school free?
California’s educational funding has been drastically cut over the past 30 years. Today the state ranks 41st in school spending and as a result, programs including art, music and libraries that used to be included in standard public school curriculum are at risk of being discontinued or severely scaled back.
State funding, property taxes and parcel taxes alone do not cover the funding gap for the quality education that our community wants to provide for our kindergarten to 8th-grade children. In addition, enrollment in our district increases every year, as costs increase. More here.
How much should I donate to Annual Family Giving?
We ask those who can to donate $900 per child to cover THIS school year's program costs. That being said, every contribution, no matter what amount, is appreciated and valued. Contributions can be made by check, credit card, Venmo, with stock, and/or through corporate matching. Also, contributions can be made in one payment or in ten monthly installments. Click here to donate!
What is the difference between what YES funds and what the parent clubs and parent teacher organizations at the individual school sites fund? Should I be donating to both?
Yes, both are important! We are all working together to provide the best possible programs and resources for our kids. YES raises funds for district-wide programs, in addition to a tuition after school theater program, that benefit every child in our schools. Each school has its own parent club, PTO or PTA that raises funds for its own campus through an annual fund raising event. These funds are used for campus beautification, emergency preparedness support and training, PE and playground equipment, teacher grants and more. Together, YES! and all parent teacher organizations provide the funding that our district needs to provide the high-quality experience we expect for our kids. More on this below.
I am a local business owner. How can I get involved in the YES Business Partners program?
Participating businesses receive numerous benefits as a YES supporter, depending on their level of commitment. Learn more here.
What is your board selection process?
The YES Board Nomination Committee convenes every spring to review open board positions. Open positions are offered to existing board members first. If there are remaining open positions, YES board members reach out to each school and the community at large to recruit interested and skilled parents to fill the open positions. The new board for the following school year is seated at the last meeting of the current year, generally in late May or early June.
Who should I contact if I’m interested in volunteering with YES?
We are always looking for parents and community members to participate in the important work YES does. If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, please get in touch with us!
More questions?
Please contact us!
How Is My Child's Education Funded in the Ross Valley School District?
About 5% of our district’s budget comes from the support of district families (and community supporters) in the form of YES and PTA/PTO contributions!
State, federal, and local funding are not enough to cover your child's education due to drastic cuts in California’s educational funding over the past 30 years. Today the state ranks 41st in school spending and as a result, programs including art, music and libraries that used to be included in standard public school curriculum are at risk of being discontinued or severely scaled back.
The below information is provided by the Ross Valley School District.
In the chart above, State and Property Tax funding is LCFF funding. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) replaced a disparate funding mechanism that existed for about forty years. LCFF funds represent about 66% of all funds and is the largest portion of unrestricted funds received by the District.
The goal of implementing LCFF is to simplify and provide the same base grant amount of funding by grade level for each and every district throughout the State, plus provide additional funding for students of greater need with Supplemental and Concentration Funding. Students of greater need are identified as being eligible for free or reduced priced meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), an English Language Learner (ELL), Students with Disabilities (SWD), homeless students, and foster students. A student may fall into multiple categories, but will only count once, and are referred to as “Unduplicated Count or UDC”, for purposes of the additional Supplemental or Concentration grant funding.
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Supplemental grants equal to 20% percent of the adjusted base grants multiplied by the districts unduplicated percentage of English learners, income eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and foster youth pupils;
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Concentration grants equal to 50 percent of the adjusted base grants multiplied by an LEA’s percentage of unduplicated pupils above 55 percent;
RVSD has approximately 10-11% UDC students and receives Supplemental LCFF funds to provide additional services and supports to these students. RVSD is not eligible for Concentration Funds.
Other State Revenues include Lottery Funds, Mandated Cost Block Grant on-going, one-time funds, and Mental Health Funds.
Other Local Revenues include Interest Income, Rental/Lease income, Special Ed distributed by MCOE, and other miscellaneous receipts.
What's the difference between YES and my school's Parent Club/Parent Association?
The YES Foundation
$900 suggested per child to raise $1M district-wide to cover:
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K-6 certified art teacher salaries
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K-8 art materials
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K-8 certified music teacher salaries, instruments, materials
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New library books
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Grade 6 STEAM classes teacher salary and materials
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Grade 6-8 after school sports and lunchtime clubs
Your PTA/PTO
$130 suggested per child remains at each campus to cover:
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Safety including emergency preparedness materials, supplies, training
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PE equipment
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Teacher and staff grants
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Other initiatives may include gardens, events, beautification, facility needs, etc.