Update from the Superintendent

Intradistrict transfer requests for students who live inside of the district boundaries, as well as Interdistrict transfer requests for students who live outside of the district boundaries, are both open now through March 31, 2024.

Additionally, New Student Enrollment opens February 1st and Residency Verification (returning students) begins June 5, 2024.

For details & more information, please visit www.smusd.org/enrollment

After conducting a thorough Facilities Master Plan & Needs Assessment, there are many aging schools within SMUSD, including 146 portable classrooms with pressing infrastructure and repair needs that are more than 25 years old and falling apart. Many of these facilities have structural damage, water leaks, and mold. With mounting expenses for repairs, dedicated facilities funding is needed to replace aging structures and decaying portables with modern, permanent classrooms to support quality academics and student success in college and careers.

To ensure local schools are safe and functioning and up to modern classroom standards, the SMUSD Governing Board is considering placing a school improvement bond measure on the November 2024 ballot. If approved by local voters, the potential measure would cost approximately 4 cents per $100 in assessed (not market) property value while bonds are outstanding.

Opportunities for feedback and questions from our community about a potential bond measure will be coming soon. Please stay tuned for details.

Click here for the bond measure Fact Sheet

Click here for the bond measure FAQ

As we continue the important work to implement our Portrait of a Graduate vision for all students, with the goal of helping them become Future Ready, we created a Strategic Plan one-sheet to share our vision, how it will serve students, and how we will implement this vision across all campuses.

Click here for the Strategic Plan one-sheet 🎓

As part of our Let's Face It. Together. mental health program, Care Solace is a FREE resource available to all SMUSD staff, families and students.

Trying to find an open appointment can take months, which is why Care Solace is a free service to help you navigate accessing support when you need it. Or, they offer Care Match, a self-service website that can match you with a local provider of choice to help you tackle a variety of mental health, therapy, and wellness needs.

As part of our mental health program and larger wellness initiative for staff, we are proud to offer this FREE and confidential resource to our entire SMUSD community.

Click here to learn more about our mental health program

Click here to connect directly with Care Solace

School district budgets can be highly complex and confusing, which is why we created our 2023-24 Budget At-A-Glance to transparently share district budget information.

While school districts will not have a final budget from the State until June, news from the Governor's Office is signaling a challenging State Budget this year with large deficits projected, compounded by an already volatile State funding cycle. However, the past couple years SMUSD has done a lot of intentional work to improve our financial standing, so we are in a better position to weather the California state budget volatility.

Due to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) SMUSD does not receive as much funding as our surrounding school districts, yet we have worked hard to provide a rich history of arts & music, physical education, and a long-tradition of outstanding student achievement.

See the Budget At-A-Glance here.

It’s a good time to be a student interested in art, music and dance in the San Marcos Unified School District, as local schools reap the benefits of new voter-approved funding under Proposition 28.

Check out the full story here!

As we head into the second half of the school year, I hope you are as excited as I am about all of the amazing experiences and learning happening across our campuses. With a busy Spring season ahead, I would encourage you to check in with your student regularly. Consistent attendance and parent involvement makes for a winning combination for student achievement.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andy Johnsen

Superintendent