Category Archives: Budget cuts

The Reporter: Travis Unified School District delays initiative decisions

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By Richard Bammer/ RBammer@TheReporter.com

Deferring support for dueling November ballot measures, an update on the 2012-13 budget, and renovation of Scandia Elementary took up the lion’s share of discussion during Tuesday’s Travis Unified School District governing board meeting.

Trustees Gary Craig and Ivery Hood, saying they needed more information about Gov. Jerry Brown’s and Molly Munger’s competing tax initiatives, urged the five-member board to put off supporting one or the other — or both — until the board meets again Sept. 11 in the Travis Education Center in Fairfield.

“We need to clearly communicate to the public” what happens if either one fails, said Craig, adding, “Before we vote, we need to get information out to the voters.”

“I don’t have enough information,” about the tax measures, “but I understand the impact if it (the governor’s initiative) doesn’t pass,” said Hood. “I need more time” to study the propositions.

via Travis Unified School District delays initiative decisions.

Daily Republic: Despite cutbacks, Solano college starts school year on good note

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by Ian Thompson

ROCKVILLE — Empty class seats were few and very, very far between Monday at Solano Community College as students started their first day of the fall semester at a community college where budget cuts have trimmed class offerings.

“My classes are definitely full,” said English professor Erin Farmer.

Other teachers called the day a pretty normal one that included getting to know their new students, greeting those they had in previous classes and adding students in a class schedule where there are fewer spaces available.

via Despite cutbacks, Solano college starts school year on good note.

Education Week: Romney’s VP Pick of Paul Ryan Puts Spending Debate in the Spotlight

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by Alyson Klein

Gov. Mitt Romney this morning announced that he’s tapping Rep. Paul Ryan , R-Wis., for vice president, a move that puts the debate over how best to put the nation’s fiscal house in order front-and-center in the presidential campaign.

Ryan’s controversial budget blueprint, which has been passed by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, would seek big cuts to discretionary spending (which includes most education programs). In fact, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the budget could have “disastrous consequences for America’s children.”

via Romney’s VP Pick of Paul Ryan Puts Spending Debate in the Spotlight.

Daily Republic: FSUSD parents buying more supplies during back-to-school rush

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by Heather Ah San

FAIRFIELD — Priscilla Sena-Cavalli starts her back-to-school shopping for her two children in August before school begins and ends when the school year is over.

Her son Steven Cavalli is entering the fifth grade at Laurel Creek Elementary and her daughter, Marie Cavalli, is entering the sixth grade at K.I. Jones Elementary.

Sena-Cavalli rushes to stores like Target and Walmart for all the school essentials like binders, pencils, paper and folders.

She said she doesn’t mind picking up the occasional Kleenex box to donate to her children’s classrooms. The teachers, she said, already donate so much.

via Parents buying more supplies during back-to-school rush.

Daily Republic: Armijo marching band students start school a little early at camp

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by Heather Ah San

FAIRFIELD — It’s days before Armijo High School is back in session. The campus stands quietly and peacefully, while students spend their last precious days of summer vacation anywhere but campus.

That’s not the case for members of the marching band.

Students in grades nine through 12 gathered in the school’s band room as five members stood at attention.

They raised their arms as if holding an invisible horn. Then they walked forward, deliberately in sync, eyes focused forward as they counted the beat of their steps.

via Marching band students start school a little early at camp.

Daily Republic: Green Valley Middle School after-school program falls to budget cuts

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by Danny Bernardini

FAIRFIELD — Budget cuts in Fairfield have forced the discontinuation of The Place 2 Be program at Green Valley Elementary School for the 2012-13 school year.

The after-school program at Grange Middle School, which is funded through a California Department of Education After School Education and Safety grant, remains unaffected.

The Place 2 Be program provides a homework club, academic enrichment activities, physical play and sports, arts and crafts and other services.

via Green Valley after-school program falls to budget cuts.

The Educated Guess: School funding primer: A is for Alligator

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by John Fensterwald

It’s called “the alligator chart” because it looks like a reptile’s gaping maw. Nicknamed by its creator, the Sacramento-based education consulting firm School Services of California, it’s one graph that voters should clip on their refrigerators to remind them what’s at stake this November when they consider more money for K-12 schools. School Services shared an updated version with district officials recently during its annual budget management seminars around the state.

If the governor’s tax initiative fails, the gap between what is statutorily owed K-12 schools and what they will receive will be a record gap of $1,944 per student: a deficit factor of 28.8 percent. Source: School Services of California, Inc. (Click to enlarge.)

California’s school funding law, Proposition 98, is complex, and the Legislature has tortured the language to make it more abstruse. The alligator chart cuts through verbiage to visually capture  how much money has been cut since 2007-08, the last year that the Legislature funded schools without IOUs for lost cost-of-living increases or direct cuts. Since then, the difference between what schools were entitled to receive (tip of the snout of the alligator’s open mouth) and what they have gotten (the yawning bottom jaw) has grown ominously large.

via School funding primer: A is for Alligator – by John Fensterwald.

Dan Walters: California’s ‘wall of debt’ has risen even higher

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Jerry Brown devoted the first months of his second governorship last year to dickering with Republicans on placing a multibillion-dollar tax increase before voters.

The negotiations failed, and eventually Brown turned to an initiative. His tax hike measure, Proposition 30, will be on the November ballot.

During his drive for Republican votes, Brown cited repaying “a wall of debt” as a major justification for a tax increase.

During the final years of predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s governorship, as recession deepened and tax revenue plummeted, Schwarzenegger and the Legislature propped up the budget by borrowing heavily, both formally and informally.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/03/4688036/dan-walters-californias-wall-of.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy

via Dan Walters: California’s ‘wall of debt’ has risen even higher.

Education Week: Lawmakers Explore Impact of Automatic Cuts on Education

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by Alyson Klein

A set of sweeping, across-the-board trigger cuts set to go into effect in January would be “devastating” to education programs, particularly if Congress decides to spare only defense programs while allowing K-12 cuts to go through, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Democratic lawmakers said at a hearing today.

Right now, domestic spending programs—like education‐and defense programs are supposed to share the pain of the trigger cuts equally, with all programs facing a cut of up about 7.8 percent on January 2, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

But, if Congress reaches some sort of deal that exempts only defense, the cuts to domestic programs would be much steeper, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees education spending, said at hearing today on the impact of the cuts. They could be as high as 17.6 percent, across-the-board, he estimated.

Secretary Duncan said that he “worries gravely” about what such a big cut would mean for the future of the economy.

via Lawmakers Explore Impact of Automatic Cuts on Education.

EdSource Today: California nearly last in children’s well-being

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By Kathryn Baron

California is doing slightly better by its kids but still has a long way to go, ranking 41st out of 50 states in the overall well-being of children. The 2012 Kids Count report, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, measures how well children are faring on 16 different indicators in education, economic well-being, health, and family and community.

California showed improvements in 10 of the 16 categories, including education. The brightest spot is health, where it ranked 23rd, primarily due to good prenatal care and increasing numbers of children with health insurance. But despite some improvements in other categories, the state was near the bottom everywhere else, ranking 42nd in family and community, 43rd in education, and 45th in economic well-being.

“This report shows California is continuing to sell children short,” said Ted Lempert, President of the Oakland-based Children Now, in a written statement.

via California nearly last in children’s well-being – by Kathryn Baron.

EdSource Today: Program that helps young students adjust to school is in jeopardy

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By Susan Frey

Gov. Jerry Brown’s  line-item veto last month of $15 million for a two-decade-old program addressing mental health needs among elementary school children has left districts that relied on the funds with hard choices about whether to keep the program going.

The Early Mental Health Initiative uses unstructured play and social skills instruction to help shy, misbehaving, or otherwise at-risk K–3 students feel comfortable in the classroom and on the playground. The program has been particularly important during tough economic times, said Scott Lindstrom, student support coordinator for Chico Unified. “Parents are at their wits’ end because of financial pressures. We need it now more than ever.”

Brown’s veto was consistent with his position that, instead of funding specific programs, the state should let school districts set priorities for spending money.”While I appreciate the importance of prevention and early intervention services, I believe that school districts are in the best position to determine whether these services should be funded at a local level,” he wrote in his veto message.

The $23 million saved with the vetoes will become part of general education funding for all school districts, forcing those districts with an Early Mental Health Initiative program to support it by cutting money from other programs that are already stretched thin.

via Program that helps young students adjust to school is in jeopardy – by Susan Frey.

Dan Walters: Gov. Jerry Brown’s pitch on schools very risky

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The campaign to establish a state lottery nearly 30 years ago adopted “schools win too” as its theme. And it worked.

Voters responded because education is the single most popular category of public spending, even though in reality, the lottery provides schools with little or nothing in extra money.

This year, Gov. Jerry Brown is using the same theme to sell voters on raising sales and income taxes. The opening words of his measure’s official ballot title are “Temporary taxes to fund education …”

Whether schools would actually benefit from the taxes is very uncertain; he has, however, signed a bill that would slash school spending by $5.5 billion should it fail.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/15/4631805/dan-walters-gov-jerry-browns-pitch.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy

via Dan Walters: Gov. Jerry Brown’s pitch on schools very risky.

EdSource Today: If K-12 matters most, why doesn’t state budget reflect this?

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By Robert Manwaring

Polling data (here for example) consistently shows that K-12 education is Californians’ highest state budget priority. Indeed, Gov. Jerry Brown plans to put those beliefs to the test with a $7 billion tax initiative on the November ballot aimed at resolving the state’s chronic budget problems. This initiative will hold education funding hostage, threatening $5.5 billion in K-12 cuts if voters don’t approve the new taxes.

On top of the Brown tax initiative, Molly Munger’s initiative would provide $10 billion annually in new revenues for schools and preschool/early education programs. So voters will get to weigh in not once, but twice on how strongly they want to protect K-12 education.

While this year’s budget may prioritize K-12 education – on the condition that voters are willing to raise taxes – most past budgets have not. In fact, the budget that Gov. Brown signed last month basically left in place the damage done to school budgets over the last several years, and further back.

via If K-12 matters most, why doesn’t state budget reflect this?.

Benicia Herald: School district to shuffle jobs in effort to lower expenses

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By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Benicia Unified School District trustees will convene for a special meeting Thursday to consider cutting one district food service position and reducing the hours of another — though no one will actually lose their job, a school official stressed.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Gardner will present for board approval Resolution 11-12-22 to make the reductions for the 2012-13 school year.

The moves are being made “(i)n response to the increased costs of providing food services (and) the resulting economic uncertainties posed in the Benicia Unified School District,” Gardner wrote in a report to the board.

The full-time position slated to be eliminated is Senior Food Service Assistant, and the position slated to see a reduction in hours is Food Service Assistant, a part-time position.

via School district to shuffle jobs in effort to lower expenses.

Daily Republic: Fairfield-Suisun school board passes budget

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by David DeBolt

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield-Suisun School District board unanimously approved the district’s 2012-13 budget Thursday, putting to bed a budget that includes closing a school and eliminating home-to-school transportation.

The board voted 7-0. By law, the board must pass the budget before June 30, which is Saturday.

Nearly all the work was completed prior to Thursday. The board in February began with public meetings to close a $6.5 million deficit. The cuts include closing Sullivan Middle School.

Givebacks by school district unions saved the district $1.9 million, savings programs such as high school sports and activities, employee positions and funding for adult education, independent study and for classroom materials.

via Fairfield-Suisun school board passes budget.

The Reporter: Solano County school districts to OK 2012-13 budgets

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By Richard Bammer/ RBammer@TheReporter.com

After more than six months of discussion, public comment and angst, three area unified school district governing boards — Vacaville, Dixon and Fairfield — will meet tonight and vote to approve their 2012-13 budgets as trustees cast a cold eye on possible reduced state funding in the coming months.

Vacaville and Fairfield school leaders will put their OK on smaller bottom lines compared to last year, but Dixon’s board will approve a budget similar to one approved in 2011, meaning no major cutbacks in staff, teaching days or programs.

By law, districts must send balanced budgets to the County Office of Education by the end of the fiscal year, which is Saturday.

via Solano County school districts to OK 2012-13 budgets.

Daily Republic Letters: School administrators using fear

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Rob Thomas

Suisun City

Fear is such a motivator. Parents use fear to get their children to do things; not always physical fear, but fear nonetheless. Coaches use fear with their players to either play or sit if they don’t do as they are told or instructed. Bullies use fear as the ultimate intimidator to get the weak to do what they want no matter what it is.

Gov. Jerry Brown was voted in on the, “I won’t let anything happen to education and services” platform. He wants that high-speed rail and if we don’t agree and vote in his higher taxes, then what we hold dearest to us he will take away and “teach us a lesson.”

via School administrators using fear.

Dan Walters: Is California’s budget now relatively lower than during the Reagan era?

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Gov. Jerry Brown knows that it’s difficult to persuade California voters to raise taxes, even those they may not pay themselves, as rejection of a new cigarette tax this month underscores.

In fact, polls indicate that his chances of winning approval of his multibillion-dollar sales and income tax measure in November are, at this moment, no better than 50-50.

As he fashioned the 2012-13 budget, therefore, he wanted to impress voters that he’s being tight with their money – hence, his public squabbling with Democrats over services for the poor, his furloughs for state workers, his agency reorganization and his pleas for pension reform.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/27/4591431/dan-walters-is-californias-budget.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy

via Dan Walters: Is California’s budget now relatively lower than during the Reagan era?.