WHAT THE STATE BUDGET PROBLEMS MEAN FOR RIPON SCHOOLS

Leo Zuber

Superintendent

For the last six weeks much has been made about the looming budget problems California faces next year. It was widely stated that the State faced a $14.5 billion deficit next year. In early January Governor Schwarzenegger proposed to make some budget cuts this year (2007-08) to address the problem He also proposed far deeper cuts for 2008-09. Education funding was not immune to these cuts. As the scope of the problem became clearer, school districts began to develop plans to address the pending cuts.

At the February board meeting, I presented an outline of possibilities for dealing with the budget problem in Ripon. A summary of that presentation follows.

I feel strongly that the district has sufficient reserves to deal with the cut in State funding for 2008-09, as long as the district is able to implement a wage freeze for that year. The wage freeze would keep expenses the same as this year and part of the ending balance would be used to cover the lost revenue. This plan would still leave the district with healthy reserves and it would keep everyone employed.

My real concern is the 2009-10 school year. If the State’s budget problems are not resolved and further cuts are necessary, it will be necessary to make personnel cuts at the end of 2008-09 so adequate funds are available for the following school year. Some options that might be available include:

1. Eliminating all nonspecial ed aides

2. Reducing the number of positions in the primary grades by 2 because the district is currently overstaffed at those grade levels; we would still have room for additional primary grade students even if the two positions were eliminated.

3. Eliminating two middle grade teaching positions; this could be done and still keep middle grade class sizes below 30.

The elimination of the two primary positions could be done for 2008-09 because we had new Job Share positions proposed and, if those were approved, the vacancies could be created without releasing any teachers. The middle grade reductions could be addressed because we have temporary teachers who will be leaving and existing teachers could fill those positions. These staff reductions could also be done at the end of 2008-09, if necessary, because several teachers have indicated they will be retiring. Again, a reduction could happen with nobody losing a job.

For all of the possible staff reductions, children would have to be moved. When a teaching position is eliminated, the children are still here. They have to be taught by someone else, maybe someone at another school. At the Board meeting I mentioned some possibilities. One involved the loss of a primary position at Weston and Colony Oak. Children from those schools would have to be moved. If done this year, a total of 16 would be moved, assuming no children from those grades left the district. For the middle grades, examples were given of closing the middle grades at Park View or closing middle grade classes at different schools. All of these were speculative and did not represent a recommendation for any action.

Many of the decisions that have to be made about next year’s budget can wait. There is still a lot of time and the budget picture will take all of that time and probably more to fully develop. This will also provide ample time to solicit input from parents and the community to identify all possible areas where reductions might be made. Trustees strongly indicated that this process would take place. This will allow for full evaluation of each option and assurance that every possible means of budget management has been utilized so as to minimize the impact on the students.

The only issue that needs to be resolved now is whether or not any certificated employees will be laid off. The deadline for that decision is March 15. I am discussing the wage freeze concept with the employee groups and if that works out there will be no need for any layoffs. There will be plenty of time to make decisions about any staff changes that might need to be made but I am still pretty confident my original plan of the wage freeze and use of reserves will be enough. However, that could change. Recent information on the State’s financial situation shows the problem getting worse not better.

California has a major budget problem. Solving that problem is going to have an effect on the funding of school districts. Some unpleasant choices are going to have to be made. However, for Ripon, many of those choices can be put off for a year. If things get better, they can be avoided. If things don’t get better, there will be plenty of time to have the necessary discussions to make informed decisions.