Securing Our Future.
Building Our New School.
Our school is thriving under the strong and steady guidance of its quality faculty and administration. Our involved and dedicated parent body coordinates and executes our many yearly festivals and school events. With approximately 30,000 square feet of office building space, the school has outgrown the campus in its present configuration and has no incentive to invest further in a leased facility.
The limitations of charter school funding have left Yuba River Charter School with a financial burden that other traditional public schools do not face. Charter schools receive less funding per student than traditional public schools and no annual facility reimbursements. Rent at our current facility is over $250,000 annually, a cost burden that has forced the school to cut back on traditional, fundamental Waldorf curriculum classes, including German, movement, drama, family life, and music. Over 20% of our state ADA (Average Daily Attendance) funding is dedicated to rent, and with no rent cap available to the school, budget stability is an ongoing issue. A campus of our own will provide YRCS with financial stability and a sustainable future.
In addition, instructors at Rudolf Steiner College consistently recognize the quality of YRCS teachers, and yet our highly trained faculty members are compensated below market. The monthly mortgage payment for a new facility is projected to be up to $40,000 per year less than our current rent, allowing YRCS the flexibility to increase salaries and reinstate many important discontinued programs.
We are now at a crossroads in our development. Our school is embarking on its first-ever capital campaign, aimed at borrowing and raising $10 million to take a giant leap forward and build a permanent home. With $8.7 million of our funding secured, our school must raise $1.3 million over the next three years to achieve our target. Given our commitment to offering tuition-free education, YRCS relies on philanthropic support to create a magical place for children to learn.
With the generous support of the State of California and the additional funds raised through our capital campaign, YRCS has an extraordinary opportunity to build a permanent home free from risk of increasing rent. Equally important, we can create a home that will better serve the teachers and administrators to whom we have entrusted the care, education, and nurturing of our children. Together, our community can establish a very special legacy for future generations of students, families, and teachers.