BRIEF BUDGET OVERVIEW
For the 11/12 school year the District will be losing $1.7 million of local override funding. Over 40 teaching positions have been eliminated to make up this loss. As per the voter pamphlet, art, music, and physical education programs are being reduced, and class sizes are being increased.
For the 11/12 school year the District is also losing approximately $1.8 million of state funding and $250,000 of JTED (career and technical education) funding. For the 11/12 school year, these cuts from the state are being covered with budget reserves and approximately $1 million of federal “edu-jobs” funding.
The real crisis begins to take shape in 12/13. Unless something changes, the District will lose an additional $1.7 million of override funding (total of $3.4 million). There will be no edu-jobs money and likely no reserves. The District will also lose about $600,000 of federal stimulus money being used in special education programs. The total loss in 12/13 will exceed $4 million.
In 13/14, the District is scheduled to lose the final $1.7 million of override funding. The total gap in funding between today and the 13/14 school year is projected to exceed $5.8 million. Just to put that number in perspective, it is jthe equivalent to the costs of: 1 out of every 5 teachers, the operational budgets of two middle schools, or the entire transportation and facilities budget.
In addition to the cuts to art, music, and physical education referenced above, the district has already:
- Added an average of 5 students to every classroom (through the elimination of teaching positions)
- Decreased per pupil spending for soft capital (i.e. textbooks) from $60 per student to less than $10 per student per year
- Decreased per pupil spending on instructional supplies (i.e. paper) by over 75%
- Decreased compensation for both teachers and administrators
- Increased student activity fees by 50%
- Eliminated over 50 paraprofessional (classroom aide) positions
