GILROY
– Given the school district’s dreary financial outlook,
everything is on the table when it comes to saving money, including
charging students to ride the school bus.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Given the school district’s dreary financial outlook, everything is on the table when it comes to saving money, including charging students to ride the school bus.
Although Gilroy Unified School District will not be closing any of its schools to save money, like Santa Cruz, San Jose and Oakland are doing, it must trim at least $800,000 from its spending plan. If the governor’s bond measure and its companion fiscal responsibility measure are not approved, the situation will be even more grim.
A budget advisory committee is looking at everything from increasing the price of school lunches and selling surplus land to freezing automatic teacher raises. The only item not on the table for possible cuts is class-size reduction, GUSD officials say.
Assistant Superintendent Steve Brinkman, in charge of administrative services, assured trustees that the budget advisory committee will make cuts that will be more than just a quick fix.
“For three years in a row, this district has taken in less than it has spent,” Brinkman said during a budget study session Thursday night. “But we have the courage and resolve here to stop that.”
The budget committee is meeting weekly to come up with spending reductions across seven areas of the budget. The district must have its fiscal plans in order by the March deadline for its second required budget adjustment for the 2003-04 school year.
Although the Santa Clara County Office of Education accepted the district’s last budget revision without specified spending cuts, the district won’t get that kind of leeway again, Brinkman said.
If a school district fails to get its books in order, the county can step in and impose a financial plan of its own.
The budget committee will shoot for long-term rather than one-time spending cuts to address a shortfall that by 2005-06 could reach $1.6 million.
“What we have to do … is find things that happen every year,” Brinkman said.
The most recent budget projections, based on the governor’s proposal, show GUSD with a surplus of $688,928 this school year – more than was anticipated during the last budget revision. But a larger-than-expected deficit is ahead for the next two years.
“We’re better off this year by $200,000, but next year, we’re $200,000 worse off,” Trustee Jim Rogers said. “We’re not going the right way.”
The reason for the bigger deficit, Brinkman said, is a result of several factors, including the district’s settlement with teachers this fall.
“We got more money, yeah, but it was immediately eaten up,” Brinkman said.
School board members reviewed the committee’s list that includes hundreds of potential cost-savers.
“I think we need to look at everything and get some type of cost savings or range of savings from everything,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said.
School Board President Jaime Rosso noted that other districts have resorted to encroaching on their state required reserves. GUSD’s budget keeps the mandated surplus of 3 percent of the general fund budget.
Brinkman said a one-time dip into district reserves is allowed, but rather than plan for that, it should be left as a worst-case scenario when unforeseen costs arise.
The budget committee will look at as many reductions as possible, instead of simply saving the imperative $800,000.
“I think from a fiscally conservative standpoint, it’s going to be tough to do, but we better have identified more than dollar for dollar how we’re going to close that gap,” Brinkman said.
One potential cost-saving measure identified by the budget advisory committee is cutting five bus routes to recoup $300,000 each year. Or, the district could start charging students to ride the bus.
The school board could take a more controversial route by asking the teachers union to renegotiate parts of their current contract. A $405,000 savings was identified if the district adjusts medical benefits to cap spending at the single, couple and family levels instead of the current family rate cap.
Ending class size reduction is not being discussed because, although the district could potentially hire fewer teachers, it would not save enough to outweigh the disadvantages of ending the program.
The district is not planning any layoffs, Diaz said, although certain cuts could mean fewer hours or personnel.
“Every opening will be rescrutinized and have to be justified,” Brinkman said. “That doesn’t mean they won’t be filled … but when employee salaries make up for 80 percent of (the budget), you can only work on that other 20 percent for so long.”
If the governor’s bond and budget fail in early March, however, all bets are off.
“We know it will be worse, we just don’t know how worse,” Brinkman said.
One of the few positives of the governor’s spending plan is an increased flexibility in the way programs are funded. Schools should still receive sufficient money for programs and instructional materials.
One example is the possible adoption of a new textbook for Gilroy High School’s English Department.
“We believe there should be money for that,” Diaz said, noting that money can be reallocated from the GHS budget or the district’s materials funding to pay for the textbooks, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for each grade level. Another option would be to phase in the adoption of one or two grades at a time.
Gilroy is in a slightly advantageous position over other districts struggling due to declining enrollment numbers.
“As long as we don’t see enrollment reductions, we won’t have to close a school,” Brinkman said.
The school board will hold another budget study session immediately prior to the regular board meeting scheduled for March 18 to review the proposed budget and spending cuts. The study session will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the district office.
