Prudent comments and fiscal responsibility, as well as tying
money to performance, would serve Gilroy well
The fiscal forecast is brightening for the Gilroy Unified School District – thanks to a schools-friendly state budget endorsed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is seeking re-election – and that’s great news. But we feel compelled to issue some cautionary words to school board members and administrators.
School funding in California is notoriously volatile, so administrators and trustees need to keep the state’s fiscal school funding history top of mind. They mustn’t count on the fat budget times continuing for long – history shows they never do.
With that in mind, we recommend that GUSD put some money away for a rainy day. When security cameras break, sprinkler systems fail or rain gutters need replacement, taxpayers rightfully expect that school district officials will have planned for these maintenance items.
Instead of deferring maintenance for years and then coming to voters, hat in hand, asking them to approve a bond measure, we’d like to see the district use some of its fiscal windfall to catch up on deferred maintenance and plan for future maintenance in lean times to come.
Second, we’d like to remind trustees of their fiduciary duty to protect taxpayers. We don’t see how they accomplish that with statements like the one Trustee Jim Rogers made last month when it became clear that the state budget would be favorable: “My philosophy at the moment is to make sure all employees get a fair increase.”
Rogers’ sentiment was echoed by Assistant Superintendent Steve Brinkman, who said, “The budget that is proposed by the governor is the best budget proposal on paper in 20 years, so it would be reasonable to expect a significant portion of that increase to be applied to compensation.”
The vast majority of school district employees are unionized. Increases should be negotiated, not foregone conclusions. Statements like the ones Rogers and Brinkman made do not put the school district in a good negotiating position with its unions. And that’s a breach of their duty to taxpayers.
Paying teachers more is a reasonable priority. But let’s go into negotiations without all the cards showing, and let’s make sure to think through increases – perhaps additional monies could somehow be tied to performance. What a novel idea – increased teacher compensation should equate to increased academic achievement.
Perhaps some of the budgetary windfall could be used to create bonuses for teachers, or teams or schools who make significant progress on standardized tests.
The school district must use its scarce resources to produce educated students. Careful spending, a focus on maintenance and rewarding teachers for improving academic performance of their students are important means to achieve that goal.
