The ax began to swing toward the Morgan Hill School District’s
2004-2005 budget Monday night as School Board trustees considered
the first proposals by the district’s budget committee, including
recommended swipes at Live Oak’s Associated Student Body (ASB)
bookkeeper, board stipends, District Office clerical staff and the
district’s elementary music program.
The ax began to swing toward the Morgan Hill School District’s 2004-2005 budget Monday night as School Board trustees considered the first proposals by the district’s budget committee, including recommended swipes at Live Oak’s Associated Student Body (ASB) bookkeeper, board stipends, District Office clerical staff and the district’s elementary music program.
The district is facing cuts of $2.8 million to next year’s general operating fund.
“The dilemma that we have here is that we have nothing to cut,” Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini told trustees. “We are to the bone.”
The district has cut a total of more than $6 million from the budget in the past two years.
Reasons for the shortfall include unfunded state mandates, unanticipated expenses in Special Education, a decrease in ADA, or Average Daily Attendance, funding and the need to replenish the state-required reserve from the current 1.7 percent of the general fund to 3 percent.
During the lengthy meeting Monday, Tognazzini outlined for trustees the results of three days of meetings by representatives from the district’s three bargaining units and district staff. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representatives, Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers (MHFT) representatives and members of the administrator’s unit met March 2-4 to create recommendations for trustees.
Trustees will consider the budget cuts again at their next regular meeting April 5.
And, as Tognazzini told trustees, until the budget is passed, as required by the state, at the end of June.
In this first official consideration by trustees Monday night, no decisions were made on controversial cuts, such as the music program and clerical workers.
The only determinations made were that three items would not be considered, as they are “givens:” A $170,000 savings by loading speech classes and resource classes to state limits is one item; $100,000 savings through employee retirements is another item; and loading secondary school classes to contractual limits, saving the district $550,000.
In the speech/resource cuts, two positions would be eliminated. Five certificated employees have requested retirement, and nine positions, plus one independent study position, would be lost with the secondary loading recommendation.
Parents, students and district staff filled the board room to overflowing.
A major concern among those who chose to address the board is the recommendation by the budget committee to cut the Live Oak ASB bookkeeper. ASB Director Norm Dow told trustees at length why eliminating Pam Younts’ position would be bad for the students, for the school and for the district.
“Next year, Live Oak will have a 9-12 configuration, an enrollment of more than 1,700 students, and doesn’t need an ASB bookkeeper?” he asked. “What about all the activities for the students, the money that supports these activities that is administered by ASB?”
ASB manages the funds for student clubs, sports, field trips, supplies for some groups, yearbook money, funds for the school newspaper the Oak Leaf, drama productions and more, he said.
As to the suggestion the money for the bookkeeper salary could come from ASB funds, Dow said the suggestion was not feasible. He told trustees the ASB is bailing out Live Oak sports because of low gate receipts this fall, due to problems with the football field, giving approximately $5,000 to support the graduation ceremony, and if the ASB had to pay $40,000 for Younts’ salary and benefits, the organization’s unallocated reserves could dip to $5,000 or less.
Other clerical positions targeted for cuts drew the ire of SEIU regional representative Barbara Williams.
“This work will not go away,” she said. “We are sick and tired of clerical people being taken for granted … These low-paid workers are constantly being picked on. … There is nobody left to do the work. It has got to stop now.”
