News Impacting CA Schools for the Week Ending January 28
Federal
What concerns National School Board Association is the discussion of a shift from discretionary funds to competitive grants for much of the proposed increase in education funding. Obama already has announced plans to add $1.35 billion to the Race to the Top program, and Duncan indicated that the White House sees competitive grants as the best way to leverage a relatively small amount of money to maximize reforms.
There is a debate going on about whether the identity of the reviewers should be revealed before the Race to the Top grants are awarded.
Sacramento
Maybe the State Legislature should look to Oregon which passed ballot measures to raise taxes for schools. Two-thirds of adults surveyed in a Public Policy Institute of California poll say they support higher taxes to maintain funding for K-12 schools. And a full 82 percent, including a majority of Republicans polled, oppose cutting K-12 education to reduce the state budget deficit. No other part of state spending comes close to engendering such support in the poll.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put organized labor squarely in his cross-hairs in 2010, opening a fight that will largely determine the shape of his final year in office. Schwarzenegger’s proposals would cut the size of the union workforce, reduce pay, shrink future pensions and roll back job protections won through collective bargaining.
The Legislature’s budget analyst recommended that lawmakers go along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to cut state employee pay, even without labor unions’ consent, saying the state’s fiscal distress warrants the action.
Twenty-two of state Sen. Joe Simitian’s colleagues in the Senate are co-sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow lower the threshold for passing a local school parcel tax from two-thirds to 55 percent.
Reforming State and Local Governance
The League of California Cities and other government associations are collecting signatures for an initiative the group says would stop the taking, borrowing or “stealing” of city and county property taxes, gas taxes and other local revenue by the state — as it did last year in an effort to close a $42 billion state budget gap. The measure, dubbed the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act, could appear on the November ballot, if the league collects the necessary 694,354 signatures by April 15. ? More than 80 city councils, including those from Hercules, Oakland and Martinez, have formally supported the initiative.
Let the dance begin. Between now and whenever the budget is passed. the Legislature and the Governor will play to the voters. The Legislature starts with tax measure legislation that is not new taxes.
Look for future employer contributions to increase from school districts as STRS and PERS funding liability does not recover.
School Districts Impacts
San Diego Unified
Teachers and other San Diego school employees could take pay cuts next year of up to 8 percent to help offset a projected $93 million deficit, under a proposal presented to labor groups this week. According to the San Diego Education Association, which represents about 9,000 full- and part-time teachers, the educators have been asked to take an 8 percent reduction in pay for the 2010-11 academic year.
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified
The rank-and-file members of the Association of Placentia-Linda Educators approved the contract, with four dates that teachers have agreed to take off as furlough days to save about $6 million for the district. Students may be home up to five days next year, though the dates aren’t scheduled yet.
Natomas Unified
The Natomas Unified School Board voted to make another $2.8 million in cuts that included eliminating 42 more positions next school year. The layoffs will include 13 teachers, nine health service assistants, 4.8 library technician positions, two ground specialists and four custodians, among others. An unfilled school nurse position will also be eliminated.
Mt Diablo Unified
Budget cuts in the Mt. Diablo school district have gone from bad to worse. The board cut $9.3 million this month, the cuts including consolidating or closing schools and eliminating several positions, including the assistant superintendent for secondary education. The district must cut about $35 million to balance its three-year budget.
Liberty Union School District
Bracing for the impact of an estimated $3.8 million in cuts, Liberty Union High School District trustees want to ease the pain by whittling next year’s budget gradually. They aim to slash $3.8 million in three stages: $1.25 million by March 15, the same amount again by the end of April, and a final $1.3 million by mid-June.
Livermore/Pleasanton/San Ramon
School leaders in Livermore, Pleasanton and the San Ramon Valley districts drilled deeper into their already dehydrated budgets Tuesday, lamenting the need to make multimillion-dollar cuts that could wipe out entire educational programs. It was a tough night for board members in all three districts, where fiscal slashes over the next two years likely will result in even fewer teachers, larger class sizes and reduced funding for music education, library services, athletics and other core programs, officials said.
Fresno Unified
The Fresno Unified School District is seeking to use taxpayer funds to create a charter that would be managed by a district-created, nonprofit organization. The school would be open to children in kindergarten through 5th grade.
Stockton Unified
Classes for most Stockton Unified students in kindergarten through third grade would increase from 20 students to 30 if trustees approve an administration proposal as the school district looks to slash $28.5 million from its 2010-11 budget. Under the plan 192 teachers could lose their jobs.
Capistrano Unified
Frustrated by Capistrano Unified’s insistence on 10 percent pay cuts to balance its budget, teachers in Orange County’s second-largest school district are engaging in a one-week labor slowdown to show how much work educators do on their own time, without additional compensation.
Oakland Unified
Oakland Superintendent Tony Smith’s proposal to cut next school year’s budget by $39 million includes deep cuts to central services — 74 positions eliminated out of 734 — and several one-time budget plugs totalling $8 million.
San Francisco Unified
San Francisco’s school Superintendent Carlos Garcia laid out his plan Tuesday to bridge an expected $113 million budget shortfall over the next two years, describing it as a long list of “horrible and deplorable” cuts that rival those experienced during the Great Depression. His plan, presented would eliminate up to 400 district positions, including 100 teachers resulting from an increase in K-3 class size, from 22 students to 25.
Pomona Unified
Pomona Unified School District’s early retirement incentive program was far better received than officials expected. District personnel estimated if 80 eligible employees accepted the retirement incentive Pomona Unified could save $22 million over a five-year period and about $4.5 million the first year. A total of 128 certificated employees, 109 of them teachers, have submitted paperwork seeking to take part in the program.
Modest Unified
About 120 people — mostly teachers and staff — broke into small groups to hash out how the Modesto City Schools District can cut $25 million in spending for the next school year.
Lincoln Unified
As Lincoln Unified grapples with the prospect of cutting roughly 8 percent from its budget in the next fiscal year, the expected $5 million reduction tells only the most recent chapter of the story of financial hardship that has hit California school districts the past several years.
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Wed, 10th Feb 2010 12:50 pm
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