At the May 13, 2008, Board Meeting, the Culver City Board of Education continued its discussion on the State’s Budget Crisis and the impact the Governor’s proposed budget has and potentially will have on the Culver City Unified School District. The Board also took action on additional budget cuts, recognizing that school districts are required by law to submit a balanced budget to the County Office of Education prior to June 30th of each year. It was acknowledged by the Board that all budget reductions may be readdressed following the Governor’s Revised Budget (May Revise) on May 14, 2008

 

Yesterday, the Governor released his much-anticipated May Revise. The actual funding proposal for K-12 education is $4.3 billion, or 8.8% below the unconstrained full-funding level. The May Revise proposes to fund Proposition 98 in 2008-09 at the minimum amount guaranteed by the State Constitution. This is an improvement to the Governor’s January State Budget where he proposed to suspend Prop 98, thus providing schools with less than the minimum amount of guaranteed State funding. Even so, this new State Budget Proposal still requires many school districts, including Culver City Unified School District, to lay-off teachers and support staff. The impact of the January Budget on our District resulted in final budget cuts of nearly $2.7 million. Mandatory lay-off notices, or notices of changes in their work day or year, have been sent to approximately 70 teachers, support staff, and administrators. Now, even with the changes and flexibility options presented in the May Revise, a preliminary analysis indicates that, unfortunately, we must still maintain budget cuts of at least $2.3 - $2.5 million.

 

The absence of a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) and categorical cuts of 6.5%, will continue the budget pressures felt over the last few months into the next few years. Budget analysts do not believe that the State will enact the May Revisions exactly as proposed on May 14th. The Culver City Unified School District must, however, use the May Revision as the building blocks for the District’s final 2008-2009 budget which will be presented for adoption to the Board of Education on June 24th.

 

The Revision does represent some progress in terms of the direction of the education budget. But, as the Culver City Unified School District community, we must continue to carry the message that educators “stimulate the innovators, challenge the engineers, mentor the entrepreneurs, and enable every Californian to give something back.” Students and parents depend on us to protect the educational opportunities of every child; and we cannot say that any child was left behind because California was having economic difficulties.

 

Our most recent budget cuts are online for your information. I urge everyone to continue to send the message to Sacramento that our children are our State’s most important and valuable asset, and that we must do whatever we can to ensure a bright future for all.

 

Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté

5/15/08