Some valley schools spared layoff onslaught

 

A number of valley schools are being spared the onslaught of teacher layoffs and program cuts while other Santa Barbara County Schools are being forced to suffer.

In the wake of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed $4.8 billion cut to education and suspension of Proposition 98, school districts across the state are being forced to cut programs and deliver pink slips to teachers.

If the governor’s proposal goes through, this would be the third time in this decade that Prop. 98 has been suspended.

 

Carol Bingham, director of the California Department of Education Fiscal Policy Division, said that Prop. 98 can be suspended during times of state financial duress. 

Prop. 98 was suspended in 2001-2002 and 2004-2005.

Schools in Santa Barbara County are not exempt from the consequences of the governor’s proposal, but some valley schools, such as Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, Ballard Elementary, and College Elementary School are braving the storm, sustaining only minor injuries.

“We’re going to withstand this attack,” said Ray Kirchmier, business manager at the high school.

Because a number of schools in the valley are basic aid schools, their funding is determined by their districts’ property taxes, and not by the state’s fixed income per-student allocation.

Santa Ynez High, Ballard Elementary, and College Elementary are among the basic aid schools in the valley.

 

 “We’re really fortunate and thankful that we’re a basic aid school, as is College and the high school, which means our local property taxes exceed the revenue; we’re buffered…,” said Ballard School District Superintendent Allan Pelletier.

Though the three schools are predicting that they will experience decreasing revenues, their shortfall is not as severe as other schools.

However minimal, the governor’s proposal still will deliver a blow to local schools.

According to the Tri-Counties Education Coalition for San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, the three basic aid schools in the valley will still experience categorical cuts to special federal and state programs.

 

According to the education coalition, the high school is expected to see a cut of more than $273,000, Ballard about $33,000 and College Elementary nearly $156,000.

Santa Ynez High is not planning to cut any programs.

“We’re not cutting any programs or laying off any teachers,” Kirchmier said. “We’ll face a deficit and get less money from the state, but we will back fill with money from general funds.”

Kirchmier added that the high school will most likely have to dip into its $3 million reserve to help alleviate the deficit.

On the other hand, Ballard Elementary is bracing itself to cut some of its state and federal funded special programs.

 

“We will have some cuts to special programs like staff development and the gifted program…We’ll be able to back fill from our general fund,” Pelletier said.

Ballard Elementary has a reserve fund of $1.75 million.

“For a school of our size it’s very healthy,” Pelletier said.

Other valley school districts are not so lucky.

Buellton Union Elementary, Solvang Elementary, Los Alamos Elementary, and Los Olivos Elementary are expected to see cuts in both categorical programs and revenue.

Buellton’s Superintendent, Tom Cooper, said the district is preparing for a cut of about $400,000.

The first thing the district did was form a finance committee, Cooper said.

He added that the district already has issued pink slips to two teachers, and is looking at some administrative cuts.

“We don’t have that all worked out yet,” he said.

 

The district also is considering reducing school buses and combining routes and increasing the walking distance for younger children from three-fourths of a mile to a mile.

The Buellton District School Board voted to send a letter decrying the cuts to the governor at its March 12 meeting.

“The cuts are the worst cuts in the history of education in California, and cuts of $24,000 a classroom is something that public schools cannot sustain,” Cooper said.

Los Olivos School District Superintendent Anjanette Winckler said its two-school district is preparing for coming deficits.

 

“Our goal is to reduce expenditures at this point and we’re working diligently to reduce the preliminary figure of approximately $200,000, which may change at our May revise,” Winckler said. “We  are restructuring within the district from the administrative level down.”

The school district also is exploring administrative cost sharing between the Los Olivos School and the Olive Grove Charter School.

“It’s one of the worst cuts that we’re looking at — ever,” Winckler said. “This is definitely going to hit our school district and others hard.”

 

According to the Tri Counties Education Coalition, Solvang Elementary will experience a deficit of over $400,000 and Los Alamos, $183,759.

Other school districts in the county have already issued layoff notices to teachers.

• 29 notices were sent to employees in the Lompoc Unified School District and at Santa Maria high schools. 

• 29 at Santa Maria’s high schools.

• Santa Barbara School District has issued 105 pink slips to temporary teachers and 51 to probationary and permanent teachers.

 

“Releasing a teacher because of financial crises is heart-sickening,” said Paul Turnbull, assistant superintendent for the Santa Barbara School District.

Santa Barbara City College and Alan Hancock Community College also are bracing for the budget pinch.

“We’re doing our planning as best we can for 2008-2009,” said SBCC President John Romo.

He said that community colleges statewide have already seen cuts of over $100 million and city college has experienced a $1.3 million reduction. 

“We’re trying to keep budget cuts away from the classroom; we will be able to weather this year’s budget,” he said. “Next year we don’t know. Everybody [is] just waiting on what the governor has to say in early May.”

While schools do what they have to do to survive the financial crises, the California Education Coalition continues to lobby the governor to suspend his budget cut proposal.

“Right now we’re working on talking to legislators,” said Robin Swanson, Education Coalition spokesperson. “We’re still waiting to see what the Legislature’s proposal is. “I think a lot of law makers have been receptive, we just hope that they follow through and don’t make any cuts to our schools.”

The governor’s proposed state budget will go to the State Legislature in May. The State Legislature has until mid July to come up with a final proposal. Historically the state has been late and has come up with the budget at the end of July.