News that the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s projected
budget gap is growing right along with the state’s is not
surprising, and it follows that drastic steps will have to be taken
to balance the books.
1. Budget guessing game
News that the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s projected budget gap is growing right along with the state’s is not surprising, and it follows that drastic steps will have to be taken to balance the books. Unfortunately, thanks to the ridiculous way the state funds school districts, the best district officials can do is guess at how much red ink is heading the district’s way.
But even though they don’t have a complete picture of their revenue situation, MHUSD administrators and trustees know exactly what their costs are. It’s too bad that it’s not easy for the public to know also. We urge the district to immediately post its budget – which is public information – on an easy-to-find spot on its Web site.
2. Put the budget online
If the public can easily access the numbers, they’ll have a much easier time understanding the difficult decisions ahead. We need to see the cost of every program and facility so that we can prioritize what to keep and what to cut.
Another thing that will make the situation easier is leadership by example. We urge Superintendent Alan Nishino to give back the raise that he was recently granted by trustees.
One of the more difficult decisions is whether or not to close one or more elementary schools as a cost-savings measure. Although we can almost hear distraught parents, teachers and students now lining up to protest proposed closings at school board meetings, we urge administrators and trustees to make these difficult decisions based on fiscal realities and sound priorities, not emotions.
3. Set priorities and follow through
If closing one or more elementary schools produces enough savings to allow a higher priority program to continue, then clearly, that’s what must be done. We prioritize arts, music and sports programs – which often keep at-risk kids attending school – above particular facilities.
Finally, we urge MHUSD administrators and trustees to make the decisions as quickly as possible. These are unpleasant decisions that of course need due consideration, but we do not need to prolong the pain and uncertainty.
Let’s face the circumstances, evaluate the options rationally, and then get on with implementing the difficult decisions that can’t help but displease lots of people.
