The waiting game
By André Coleman 03/26/2009
Thirty-eight teachers and 10 counselors will have to wait until June to see if they still have jobs with the PUSD.
By then, the now bleak economic outlook for public education may change radically — if voters in May approve two special state ballot initiatives which would raise sales and income taxes to help finance education.
Attempting to reconcile a projected $6.5 million budget deficit in the coming fiscal year, officials earlier this month notified employees that they could lose their jobs. To date, 27,000 teachers, 3,000 administrators and 10,000 classified employees in school districts across the state have received such notices.
“The state of the California budget has brought public education funding to a true crisis standstill,” said PUSD Chief Academic Officer Alice Petrossian.
Like every other California school district, PUSD has been hit hard by $8 billion in cuts included in the recently adopted state budget, with $13 million eliminated from the district’s $185 million general fund — $155 million of which goes to pay salaries.
The district already has taken measures to cope with $9 million of the deficit, largely by cutting literacy coaches, reorganizing the district’s administrative offices, consolidating programs, accepting early retirements and leaving vacancies unfilled. A one-time $11 million stimulus payment from the federal government has also eased the financial strain.
But because most of those savings and benefits come from one-time events, PUSD officials are saying they must still identify about $6.5 million more in budget cuts.
“While no final decisions have been made, the significant loss of funding from the state may require us to reduce positions in 2009-10,” Diaz said.
The district could get some help from voters in the special election May 19. Proposition 1B could generate $8 billion in public education funding, but schools will get that money only if voters also pass Proposition 1A, which would increase the state sales tax from 8 to 9 percent and double the state’s vehicle license fee. Proposition 1A would also raise personal income taxes by one quarter of one percent in every income bracket.
“If either of the propositions does not pass, the budget gap will continue to grow and education will be cut again,” Petrossian said. “None of us believe that California’s public schools should be at the mercy of propositions for their funding. California must provide a stable funding plan that is not a roller-coaster ride for the future citizens of this state — our students.”
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