In light of an estimated 3.5 percent decrease in education funds
looming on the horizon, the Gilroy Unified School District is in
limbo. GUSD faces possible program cuts, staff furloughs and
reduction in personnel in wake of a $6 billion California deficit
for 2010-11. In its November budget outlook, the Legislative
Analyst’s Office of California noted a
”
sharp reduction in K-14 programmatic spending,
”
painting a dreary landscape of the state’s financial
forecast.
In light of an estimated 3.5 percent decrease in education funds looming on the horizon, the Gilroy Unified School District is in limbo.
GUSD faces possible program cuts, staff furloughs and reduction in personnel in wake of a $6 billion California deficit for 2010-11.
In its November budget outlook, the Legislative Analyst’s Office of California noted a “sharp reduction in K-14 programmatic spending,” painting a dreary landscape of the state’s financial forecast.
“When I see all these negative balances, it reminds me of frogs in a pot,” said trustee Jaime Rosso during Thursday evening’s GUSD board meeting. “You turn up the heat … and it gets progressively hotter, and nobody jumps out … That’s our situation here. We’re at the mercy of the state.”
For 2011-12 it looks a whole lot worse. The analyst’s office projects a $19 billion gap between state spending and revenue.
“The state is in a budget crisis, and they can’t give school districts enough money to manage day-to-day operations,” explained GUSD Superintendent Deborah Flores, who’s heard of a possible $300 per-student decrease in educational funds.
For GUSD it could mean a $3 million hit for the little more than 10,000 student population, according to Kirsten Perez, director of fiscal services for GUSD.
Currently, GUSD has an operating budget of $88.5 million for the 2010-2011 school year, she said.
With the state deferring approximately $6.6 million of what it owes to GUSD to next year, Flores said that’s like the average person not receiving two or three of their paychecks.
Right now, California schools are waiting on Governor-elect Jerry Brown.
After he takes office in January, he’ll have the daunting task of presenting a proposed budget by Jan. 10 for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
He then must provide a revised budget in May, which should be finalized and approved by July 1.
At least, that’s the intended timeline.
“But it doesn’t usually happen that way,” quipped Perez.
She said when it comes to financial planning for the school year, it’s essentially a guessing game.
“We have a new governor, and we’re not sure how he’s going to deal with the problem,” Perez said.
For this school year, the budget was supposed to be passed in July – and that didn’t happen until 100 days later in October.
She said schools were operating four months into the year, not knowing what the state could or could not fund.
As far as strategy goes, GUSD administrators will revisit moves they’ve made in the past while searching for new ways to save dollars.
“If you asked me and the board,” said Flores, “our priority is to keep the number of instructional days the same.”
She said overall commitment is to keep the cuts away from the children as much as possible.
Paul Winslow, English teacher at Christopher High School, expressed similar concern.
“Teachers and the district have been incredibly sensitive in keeping the impact of our budget issues away from students as far as possible.”
He said this is evidenced in the fact GUSD schools have been able to maintain most of their course offerings, and keep class sizes at the elementary level relatively stable.
Flores points out trustees have dealt with significant budget cuts for the past three years, and are no strangers when it comes to grappling with California’s perpetually famished piggy bank.
She and her colleagues confront the problem with a “very effective” formula that involves taking into account input from all members of the school community with a series of public meetings while evaluating programs that encroach on the district’s general fund.
“It’s a comprehensive process where everything will be under scrutiny,” she explained. “Everything.”
Flores remarked GUSD will likely look at some of the same things it did last year – increasing class sizes, staff furloughs, curbing energy consumption, making cuts in the district office and reducing/eliminating specialized programs that encroach on district funds.
In the past, programs that have not received enough money from the state included adult education, the community day school program and home-to-school transportation.
The biggest expense by far is personnel – which is where Flores said they’ll have to look for major savings.
Perez pointed out when the district makes reductions, a vast majority comes from staffing.
Eighty-nine percent of the district’s total unrestricted budget covers teacher salaries and benefits, she said.
However, Winslow fears this year’s budget hit is so harsh, protecting students and teachers from problems caused by external factors will be taxing.
“Constantly having to work harder with less, defending the profession of teaching, boosting scores with large class sizes and worrying about job stability are all irrevocably hurting the profession of teaching,” admitted Winslow.
As it is, California’s support of its K-12 public education system already falls far behind the funding levels provided by almost all of the other states in the nation, according to a fiscal report published by the School Services of California, Inc.
On top of that sting is an additional $2 billion loss in funds that would normally go to schools.
Proposition 98, which was passed in 1988 and guarantees a minimum amount of funding to education, will lose a large portion of its revenue after temporary 2009 tax increases expire soon.
For GUSD, which received federal stimulus bailout money two years in a row and still walked on eggshells, that’s a handful of unsettling x-factors to juggle.
“We’re not sure how bad it’s going to look, and where the cuts are going to come from,” said Perez. “We’re not sure if the government will look to make education cuts again, or if the legislature will realize we can’t reduce anymore.”
Perez warned at Thursday’s board meeting that using a three percent reserve set aside by GUSD – a mandated amount that must be maintained, based on size and district – is a one-time resource.
Once it’s spent, it’s spent, she told board members Thursday with a realistic tone of caution in her voice. She said it’s an economic reality GUSD has to deal with.
“Thank you, Ms. Perez,” said Rhoda Bress, school board president. “We promise not to shoot the messenger.”
Luis Alejo, 28th District Assemblyman, warned schools are almost at rock bottom when it comes to per-student funding.
Alejo, who serves on the 2011-12 First Extraordinary Session Assembly Budget Committee and represents several areas including South County, said his top priority is making sure any cuts or decisions are executed with precisely that factor in mind.
A former alternative education high school teacher, Alejo’s got his eye on the Assembly’s education committee. If appointed, he’ll sit squarely in a position to advocate for policy and budgeting that preserves as much resources for schools as possible.
“When we talk about budget solution, I’ll be proposing ‘what are the ideas to get people working again?’ ” he said over the phone Friday. “We need more money going in to the local economy, which will result in more resources to properly fund public schools.”
In the haze of financial uncertainty, Flores said she sees quality teaching and good learning occurring all over the district.
“I don’t believe our teachers have let this impact the quality of what they do on a day-to-day basis,” she said.
