School districts likely to face ax as state deficit grows

With the projected state budget deficit expected to reach $7 billion by next summer, educators are bracing for the possibility of more cuts this academic year -- even before they even finalize spending plans for next year.

[Bye bye Harbor High]

At this rate, SCCS will have to close one of the high schools. I'm guessing that Harbor High will be on the chopping block.

[Jendog]

What if classified jobs like custodian, clerical work, and library work were opened up for older teens to do in exchange for Community Service credit?
The districts would save money the teens would be learning a skill and not out in the community directionless and bored.

[Getting there]

In recent years, districts have received nearly 20 percent less in state funding than they should have gotten based on state law, said Barney Finlay, the county education finance chief.

Inching towards truth. Schools are NOT getting less, they are not getting the increases they promised to pay out. Any system that allows salary negotiations to take place as though there is no possibility of having less funding is just asking for trouble. Combine this with steadily increasing health care costs and yet-to-be-felt underfunded retirements, and you have an unsustatinable system doomed to fail.

Proposition 98 MUST be revisited.

[What culture]

Decimating and enslaving native populations. Poisoning the environment. Wasting natural resources for golf courses in deserts. And ENGLISH ONLY xenophobia.
If that's what it takes to be a patriot, count me out.

[disabuser]

Ken Wagman, Santa Cruz's board president, said trustees knew their budget would see changes. It was clear revenue projections anchoring the state budget wouldn't hold, he said.

Ya' think? And of course its not just revenue projections but also the entire house of cards that the budget is, consisting of all kind of accounting tricks and budget moves that have generated a raft of lawsuits by interested parties that could reverse savings counted on in the budget. So knowing that the state budget assumptions are problematic, the prudent move is to reduce spending by more rather than less. If a district's finances were to end up better off, then they can always spend the money when it's in hand.

[disabuser]

Getting there wrote:

In recent years, districts have received nearly 20 percent less in state funding than they should have gotten based on state law, said Barney Finlay, the county education finance chief.
Inching towards truth. Schools are NOT getting less, they are not getting the increases they promised to pay out. Any system that allows salary negotiations to take place as though there is no possibility of having less funding is just asking for trouble. Combine this with steadily increasing health care costs and yet-to-be-felt underfunded retirements, and you have an unsustatinable system doomed to fail.
Proposition 98 MUST be revisited.

The complexity in school budget accounting is immense and subject to widely differing interpretations. So I found this paragraph in the LAO's analysis of the current state spending plan to be an interesting take on the question:

“Programmatic” funding reflects the amount of resources school districts have available to spend each year after accounting for funding swaps, payment deferrals, and other funding sources (such as ARRA funds). When these adjustments are taken into account, the change in per–pupil funding from 2007–08 levels could range from an increase of roughly 3 percent to a decrease of roughly 3 percent.

[Aptos Parent]

I strongly encourage all parents to look at every alternative for you children and not just go down the public school route because that is where you went to school. I went to public schools myself and in retrospect, my education was really not that good. Most of the private schools are having their open houses this month and it will cost you nothing but your time to take you child to see what else is available. St Francis, Monte Vista Christian both offer a very good, very affordable education if you are willing to make some sacrifice for your child. Don't look at it as abandoning the public schools, but as NOT abandoning your own child. Let your child do a shadow day with another student and then let them make the decision. There are scholarships available so don't let the money thing stop you from even looking. You only get one chance to do right by your children so don't let the public school advocates shame you into sticking with the status quo.

[2nd generation immigrant]

What culture wrote:

Decimating and enslaving native populations. Poisoning the environment. Wasting natural resources for golf courses in deserts. And ENGLISH ONLY xenophobia.
If that's what it takes to be a patriot, count me out.

What's wrong about english only? When my grandparents came to this country, their children were not allowed to go to school until they had basic english skills. The teacher sent my uncle home & said come back to school next year when you speak English! Sure they were embarassed, but guess what? Learning English became the first priority. And imagine the satisfaction & self-worth gained from this acheivement without any government subsidy.

It used to be a parent's responsiblity to learn English and teach it to their children.
Why is now up to the US taxpayers to subsidize ESL?

[nurse-mom]

quote--I strongly encourage all parents to look at every alternative for you children and not just go down the public school route because that is where you went to school. I went to public schools myself and in retrospect, my education was really not that good. Most of the private schools are having their open houses this month and it will cost you nothing but your time to take you child to see what else is available. St Francis, Monte Vista Christian both offer a very good, very affordable education if you are willing to make some sacrifice for your child. Don't look at it as abandoning the public schools, but as NOT abandoning your own child. Let your child do a shadow day with another student and then let them make the decision. There are scholarships available so don't let the money thing stop you from even looking. You only get one chance to do right by your children so don't let the public school advocates shame you into sticking with the status quo.
Grass is not always greener on the other side........we are in a very good private school right now.......carefully weigh the good and bad before jumping over! Money does not always fix things.

[Rosie]

""We knew it the moment we got the budget passed -- we were already talking about mid-year cuts," Wagman said. "You can't cut mid-year unless you take it out of reserve, and you can't do that too many times. There isn't any more fat in the budget.""

Ahhh so there was fat!
How about everyone making more than $50K take a cut before you cut any more jobs!

If they don't want a pay cut, they can go find some "fat" in the private sector, surely we have enough unemployed people waiting for any job to surface.

OT: When districts, the county, the city, etc are not hiring and haven't been for a good while now, how many "personnel" employees do they need? Just curious.

[WPK and BCA]

But, how will your children ever learn how to sing "Oh Bummer Loves me yes I know" if they won't attend a properly politically "informed" taxpayer owned PUBLIC SCHOOL?

Kinda makes me wonder what they're really trying to teach our kids.

Folks, it's long past time to KILL THE CORRUPT TEACHERS UNION and require all state employed teachers to be private contractors who have to actually deliver high quality ejumification....

or, THEY'RE OUT!!!

[SC TAXPAYER]

I am constantly amazed that people who live and die for the public school system scream about the horrors of a publicly run health care system! Guess what, the same morons who now run the school system will be the ones running your health system and yet you trust them to educate your children? Vouchers are the only solution to our screwed up pubic education system and every other industrialized country already has this in place and guess what? They are kicking our butt.

[falcon]

Jendog: It would violate union contracts

What isn't mentioned in the article is the costly mandates each district must comply with, either imposed by the federal or state government, union contracts or militant community groups: Special Education, Bilingual options, transportation, Williams Act, retirement, health benefits, illegal immigration, and a whole lot of entitlement programs that are not fully funded. Add to that lack of parent participation and you have what we now know as public education.

[falcon]

SC TAXPAYER wrote:

I am constantly amazed that people who live and die for the public school system scream about the horrors of a publicly run health care system! Guess what, the same morons who now run the school system will be the ones running your health system and yet you trust them to educate your children? Vouchers are the only solution to our screwed up pubic education system and every other industrialized country already has this in place and guess what? They are kicking our butt.

You make a good point - we want to compare our health care system to others, but not our educational system. I believe that's a wee bit hypocritical, doncha think?

[SC TAXPAYER]

And despite not hiring any "new" teachers or having any teacher openings, the PVUSD employs seven administrators in their "New Teacher Program" costing at least $550K per year. Dorma are you listening?

[disheartened]

Stop trashing public education. Maybe a better scenario is that no one learns to read, write, or do simple math. Maybe kids as well their parents should just run amok with no incentive to do anything else. Yes, this is the answer. Only a small elite group of over-privileged, whiny, entitled, English-speaking kids with families who have money should go to school. Then, they can run the government, health care system, and the world for that matter. We'd all be much better off. Doncha' think?

[r we there yet]

disheartened wrote:

Stop trashing public education. Maybe a better scenario is that no one learns to read, write, or do simple math. Maybe kids as well their parents should just run amok with no incentive to do anything else. Yes, this is the answer. Only a small elite group of over-privileged, whiny, entitled, English-speaking kids with families who have money should go to school. Then, they can run the government, health care system, and the world for that matter. We'd all be much better off. Doncha' think?

Having a hard time reading through your sour-cat attitude, aren't we the already?

[disheartened]

Yes, we are there already. That is the point!

[SC TAXPAYER]

disheartened wrote:

Stop trashing public education. Maybe a better scenario is that no one learns to read, write, or do simple math. Maybe kids as well their parents should just run amok with no incentive to do anything else. Yes, this is the answer. Only a small elite group of over-privileged, whiny, entitled, English-speaking kids with families who have money should go to school. Then, they can run the government, health care system, and the world for that matter. We'd all be much better off. Doncha' think?

Yes, let's believe everything the unions and the liberal legislators say and not question anything about our schools. Sure we know they are crap, but hey you get what you pay for right? Public schools should be all about the well being of the administrators and to see how many special programs that don't serve the mainstream children that we can create. Schools are no longer for everyone but are now only for those who can't read, speak, talk, walk, think, eat, etc. The elite group of over-privileged kids should be made to suffer and not learn anything because of the oppression caused by their ancestors. It is not only our right to question government in this country but our obligation and if I think Dorma Baker and Michael Watkins are incompetent (I do) and should be replaced, then I will certainly make it known.

[laurie]

2nd generation immigrant wrote:

<quoted text>
What's wrong about english only? When my grandparents came to this country, their children were not allowed to go to school until they had basic english skills. The teacher sent my uncle home & said come back to school next year when you speak English! Sure they were embarassed, but guess what? Learning English became the first priority. And imagine the satisfaction & self-worth gained from this acheivement without any government subsidy.
It used to be a parent's responsiblity to learn English and teach it to their children.
Why is now up to the US taxpayers to subsidize ESL?

THANK YOU! WELL PUT - hope someone/everyone is reading and listening! My grandparents came to this country and spoke no english. When they had children they knew that their success depending on the children being able to speak and understand english. People come to this country for a better life - they need to assimilate - I know that if I went to a foreign country to live I would need to learn their language.