The unprecedented cuts continue. Following the failure of state
propositions that would have patched the state budget, school
district trustees will soon be looking at more than $4 million in
additional cuts that will likely come through pay cuts and
furloughs.
The unprecedented cuts continue. Following the failure of state propositions that would have patched the state budget, school district trustees will soon be looking at more than $4 million in additional cuts that will likely come through pay cuts and furloughs.
Another $1.9 million needs to be shaved from the current school year, and another $2.2 million needs sloughing off next year’s budget.
In the past two years, the district will have slashed $13.4 million from its general fund. That’s almost a fifth of its $74 million operating budget.
Then, once they get that $4.1 million figured out, they’ve got another blow coming in the fall: there’s already talk of midyear cuts, and there’s no telling how big a chunk of the general fund that will be, Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini said.
Board members hesitated to say where in the district the cuts would be made, since they have yet to hear a staff report or recommendation.
Trustee Mike Hickey said it’s getting to the point where the students will start to notice the difference.
“Up until this point, the kids are oblivious to the cuts, they just go to school and do what they’re told,” Hickey said. “Now, we’re to the point they’re going to start feeling it. It will affect extracurricular activities.”
Superintendent Alan Nishino said “no stone will be left unturned” as district staff scrambled to find a way to close the latest gaping hole in the budget.
“Obviously, when you cut, it affects our kids and our employees,” he said.
Nishino said he was concerned about the future. All these cuts mean there’s less of a support system for teachers, and therefore for students, he said.
There are few recourses for the district. Since there are just six weeks left for this school year, most of the money has already been spent. And, the deadlines have already passed to make layoffs next year. Tognazzini said the district will first approach the two labor unions to talk about negotiating staff savings through furloughs and pay cuts, which have to be negotiated with the two labor unions.
Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers Union Local 2022 President Donna Ruebusch said she can’t imagine what the future of the district will look like.
“Let’s do this in the most humane way possible. I can’t imagine where that money is going to come from. Those numbers are phenomenal,” Ruebusch said.
Ruebusch and Trustee Peter Mandel both said they were frustrated that state leaders effectively put education on the chopping block again by mismanaging the state budget.
Conveniently, the $2.2 million in further cuts from next year’s budget is about equal to the federal stimulus money funneled through the state.
“The state found the perfect dollar value to take,” Tognazzini said.
Tognazzini said that as for the $1.9 million in reductions needed for the current school year, they’re scrambling to see if there’s any leftover money from funds within the general fund.
Tognazzini said it’s standard procedure for the district to borrow bond dollars to pay the bills, and then pay it back with interest at the end of the fiscal year. This is risky business now, since the state is withholding cash for the class size reduction program, the federal stimulus and other funds.
For example, the district is expecting $2 million for participating in the class size reduction program during 2008/09. The state has deferred payments for months now.
“That’s $2 million that’s just hanging out there, that we know is coming. Our two big concerns are, this unknown number in the fall, and, what if we run out of cash?” Tognazzini said. “The concern would be, once we pay all our bills, will there be enough cash in the coffers at the end of 9/10 to pay off the bond dollars in cash?”
With the state reluctant to dole out cash where it’s promised, Tognazzini said the district will have to be diligent in making sure there’s always enough in reserves to pay off debt by the end of the year.
“(Department heads) are going to have to know exactly what their cash balance is before the end of the year. Every month we’ll have to check to know what the cash balance is in (each) fund,” she said. In years past, the district didn’t have to keep quite as close a watch on the reserves, since there was always enough cash on hand to balance the books by the end of the year, she explained.
“It’s horrific, it’s more than horrific,” Tognazzini said. “I’ve never seen this before – where we’re doing a budget cut as the books close for the year.”
