School District Braces for Deeper Cuts

Still reeling from news about laid-off teachers and painful cuts to education, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District is bracing for a widening deficit after learning that the state expects $1.9 billion less in federal money next fiscal year.

"We have not been having any good news from any front lately," said Gary Black, who is in charge of the district's finances and tasked with forming next year's budget before the state finalizes its own.

The update was part of a short presentation Black delivered at Tuesday night's board of education meeting, the second-to-last of the school year and weeks before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

It's unclear how much less in local funding that state cut will translate to. Black could do nothing but share his best guess about the near future's money situation until Gov. Arnold Scwarzenegger approves the state budget, which legally should happen before July but last year happened well into this school year.

"It could be millions,"Black said. "I don't know."

Based on tentative information about the proposed state budget, the local 28,000-student district already has to devise ways to pare back $30 million from its budget over the next three years. Superintendent Steven Enoch said it may be necessary to tack on another $1.7 million to that shortfall, given the state's expected loss of federal revenue.

It's a lot to ask from a district that already bore a 22-percent revenue cut over the past three years, a cut topping $89 million. And per-pupil funding is expected to drop to new lows—to $4,929 in 2011-12 from $6,099 in 2008-09. 

Trustee Greg Marvel said it's likely the district will have to borrow money mid-year in 2010-11 through interest-bearing loans from the Contra Costa County Office of Education to pay its operating costs.

Also at the meeting

• About 5.5 full-time-equivalent non-teaching positions in the district will be saved after trustees rescinded a handful of layoff notices. Meanwhile, 17 full-time teacher's jobs are still on the line, said Superintendent of Human Resources Jessica Romeo.
• John Korzick, a California High School robotics and engineering instructor who's in the running for the state's "Teacher of the Year" competition, is among the top three in the county, the district announced.
• Trustees, following advice of legal counsel, amended a proposal to sell $25 million in school bonds by clarifying in the contract that the district will earn federal subsidies for the interest.

The final board meeting of the current school year is scheduled for June 28.