Within the next month, officials with the largest school
district in the county will decide how to slash a projected $1.4
million from the district’s $30 million budget during the middle of
the school year.
Within the next month, officials with the largest school district in the county will decide how to slash a projected $1.4 million from the district’s $30 million budget during the middle of the school year.
“We’re living pretty lean now. The thought of having to live leaner is scary,” said Judith Barranti, Hollister School District superintendent.
School officials should learn by at least the beginning of February how much the state Legislature will eliminate from education spending for the mid-year. Gov. Gray Davis has proposed cutting $3.1 billion in state education spending.
Barranti and other county education administrators attended a workshop in Sacramento last week to discuss the pending cuts. The workshop was sponsored by School Services of California.
Dean Bubar, the district’s director of business and operations, estimated that $223,729 will be eliminated from restricted funds and $1.2 million will be slashed from unrestricted revenue. But the figures may change depending on what the state legislature decides.
“I think there’s going to be a monumental battle in the legislature,” Ladd Lane Elementary School Principal Bob Hammond said. “It’s a political thing. Everyone has priorities. … Everyone is panicking.”
HSD administrators have already implemented measures to decrease spending while waiting to hear from the state. The district has stopped all spending not deemed essential, frozen hiring, diverted as much spending as possible to federal money and grants, frozen all overtime and limited conference attendance, Barranti said.
Hammond said he has frozen spending at his school, but did not want to take away from delivering education to students.
“We don’t want to hurt what we’re doing for our kids. We’re not skimping, but we’re being cautious,” he said.
About 85 percent of the district’s budget is tied up in year-long personnel contracts, making it difficult to determine areas that may experience mid-year cuts.
Once district officials learn how much has to be cut, Trustees, by law, will determine how to enforce the cutbacks.
“This district responsibly made some cuts last year of around $1 million,” Barranti said. “I’m concerned for what additional cuts will mean to us. … But, if those (cuts) hadn’t been done, then wow!”
When determining last year’s cuts, district officials formed a budget committee – something the district may do again, Barranti said. The committee would be made up of administration, classified employees, teachers and parents, she said.
Even though Trustees makes the ultimate decision, they would do so based on outside input and recommendations. Most of California’s revenue for K-12 schools comes from state funds and local taxes.
While most educators are lobbying for local control of the cuts, Barranti said districts usually have control over having to make cuts while the state does not give them control in good times.
“When money was available over the boom years, the legislature was real focused on giving schools money with strings attached,” she said. “Now, they’re doing this to take the heat off them. It’s whatever’s politically convenient at the moment.”
Even with the looming budget cuts, politicians and the public will still expect improvement in student performance, Hammond said.
“None of the expectations is going to be lessened by all this,” he said. “We will continue to grow.”
After this round of cuts, the state legislature will turn to debating next fiscal year’s budget, which must be passed by June 15. Davis proposed an additional $2.1 billion in cuts for education spending. Once the budget is passed during the summer, school districts will begin cutting back for a third straight year.
