The year was 2007: Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, Burnett Elementary was still operating and the words “budget reductions” were not something at which Morgan Hill Unified School District staff winced.
Fast forward to 2012 and the story is a little different. Since the 2008-2009 school year, MHUSD has cut more than $12 million, which averages a yearly $70 million budget. Things have changed for the district; there are fewer students attending schools, fewer teachers teaching and above all, less money for the district to operate.
Cuts have been so severe in the past four years that a school has been shut down – Burnett Elementary in 2009 – 10 to save $400,000. Because of the cuts, teachers are struggling to teach with limited resources, students must pay to participate in some sports and there is less funding for high school graduation, while middle school grad ceremonies were cut completely last year. It doesn’t end there either: the district is looking at an additional $2 million for 2012-13, a bulk of which will cut 100 percent of transportation bus services at $1.5 million that serves 2,060 students daily.
Teacher’s reductions
English teacher Sybil Smit of Sobrato High School has taught at the school since it opened in 2004 and has seen plenty of cuts in her 17 years teaching in the district. It seems the load to bear for teachers is coming down hard with resources stretched thin.
Smit and many other teachers are lacking funds on the basics for teaching: books and paper.
“To do their jobs, teachers rely heavily on books, paper and photocopy machines. When students lose or damage their textbooks, we don’t have a textbook replacement budget to buy more. The librarian and administration have to figure out some way to meet the added demand,” said Smit.
California’s cycle of selecting and purchasing new textbooks every eight years is currently suspended due to lack of funds. Smit said the last time textbooks were adopted for Sobrato was before the school’s opening in 2004.
Staff at Sobrato have even turned to printing handouts two pages to one side, and have students use their own binder paper to copy notes from a whiteboard or overhead projector, even if it takes more time.
Smit cited visual examples she’s seen around the school, such as cuts to the custodial staff or grounds staff. In the past two years, weeds around Sobrato got so out of control that plants were removed in order to streamline grounds maintenance. In 2008-2009, eight members of the custodial operations staff positions were cut to save $400,000. In the same year, a reduction of supplies and services for grounds maintenance reduced the budget by a total of $80,000. Again in 2009-2010, custodial services were reduced by two positions, or $100,000 in savings. As a result, sometimes the trash in Smit’s classroom doesn’t get taken out or the floors are not swept. She swept it herself two weeks ago.
“I don’t blame the custodial staff for this. I know they are doing the best they can with far too few workers and far too many square feet to cover,” she said.
Smit said the biggest reduction however, has come in the form of reduced teachers, mostly part time.
“Despite that fact that our student body has grown, our clerical and support staff has been severely cut. Secretarial staff are stretched very thin. Our library aide was laid off. Our student supervisors’ hours have been cut,” Smit said.
In 2008-2009, MHUSD had 358 full time teacher employees. This school year, the number has gone down to 296, with 62 fewer positions. Last school year alone, MHUSD cut 21 teachers positions so that class sizes for kindergarten through third grade could rise from 20 to 29 students per teacher. Of those positions, 15 were due to attrition.
President of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers, Theresa Sage, said these past four years of cuts have by far been the worst she’s seen in her 18 years with the district. With K-3 up to a maximum of 32:1 student to teacher ratio and high school at 36:1, “I don’t see where we can increase class size any more,” she said.
“I hope we can figure out statewide how to fund education,” she said. “As we’ve increased class sizes, we’ve reduced employees. I don’t know if through lay offs if that’s a viable option anymore. We’ll have to look at other options to cut.”
A student’s perspective
Student Eunice Kim, a senior at Live Oak High School, said she too has noticed the difference in lack of supplies.
“Teachers have been getting more possessive over the supplies they provide to their students. They’re always saying something like ‘We can’t even afford to buy pencils, let alone fill in the blank with a form of classroom material.’ I know that this year they’ve been really cutting down on the ridiculous amount of paper teachers use,” Kim said.
Students are expected to contribute to sports in order to pay for equipment, Kim said, a member of Live Oak’s swim team and golf team. Kim also recalls her biology teachers asking for small fees for lab supplies so they can dissect and study animals in class, for things such as sheep brains or eyes.
Lauren Newcomb, a senior at Sobrato, said she’s noticed the difference mostly for her Advance Placement classes.
“Every day in an AP class is like three days in a normal class, and so shortening the school year by just one week is like missing three weeks of instruction. This affects our performance on the AP tests, which are essential for getting into the colleges of our choice,” she said.
Live Oak senior and ASB class officer Anisha Patel, said the greatest impact that has hit close to home for her as a senior, is their graduation ceremony.
“Our class officers were informed that we had very little if not any money to fund our graduation. The cost for our graduation mainly comes from the expense of the chairs to seat our families on the football field,” she said. “Without being able to rent these chairs we would be forcing our families to either stand in the heat or sit on the completely opposite side of the field where the visual capabilities would be limited.”
Live Oak’s ASB has been fundraising for their graduation ceremony in hopes to purchase chairs so that the school can re-use them instead of rent them each year.
Lower enrollment
Although enrollment is subject to change daily, since 2008 enrollment has been gradually decreasing in the district. In 2008-2009, 9,064 attended schools within the district. By 2009-10, the number was down to 9,021, and 2010-11 down to 8,739. The biggest drop came in this year’s enrollment numbers, currently at 8,739, a loss of 173 students from last year.
With Average Daily Attendance funding per pupil currently at $5,210 a year, or roughly $23 per pupil per day, a loss of 173 translates to $901,330.
MHUSD currently lost 44 students to Silicon Valley Flex Academy, Morgan Hill’s newest charter school, yet gained 58 students from Charter School Morgan Hill, according to a presentation by Arlene Machado to the school board Jan. 17. Because some schools within the district are under Program Improvement, students are allowed inter-district transfers and open enrollment options for other schools.
Superintendent Wes Smith, who came to the district November 2009, has seen first hand what budget cuts can do to the district.
“You’re seeing larger class sizes, which is putting a lot more stress and pressure on teachers and administrators in the classrooms and you’re seeing fewer resources to students,” said Smith.
It’s unfortunate, Smith said, that California as one of the largest economies in the world, funds is 47th out of 50 states in per pupil funding.
“We don’t have that luxury of additional resources. We have to be cutting to the bare bones,” he said.
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