Schools may ax programs, positions due to state cuts

BARSTOW • Susan Levine, interim superintendent of Barstow Unified School district, said that while she does not want to scare staff and students, there’s good reason for alarm.

With the state budget threatening deep cuts, Levine and school officials have been bracing for the hit that K-12 education will take as part of the governor’s plan to fix the state’s $41 billion budget shortfall.

And after attending a workshop on Tuesday that put the fallout of the potential cuts in more digestible terms, Levine said the forecast looked bleak.

Axing pre-kindergarten programs.

Larger class sizes.

Staff cuts.

“We don’t want to create panic,” said Levine, “but it’s a reality.”

Levine and assistant superintendent of business at the district, Tony Wardell, who also attended the workshop, are bracing for a series of potential cuts midyear as well as for the 2009-10 school year.

According to Levine, overall the district would get $2 million less, which translates into approximately $300 less per student, per year.

The proposed cuts raised the possibility of eliminating grants that fund pre-kindergarten programs at Lenwood and Crestline elementary schools.

The cost-of-living adjustment funds for salaries will likely disappear, meaning funding cuts of $300,000 this school year and $2.5 million next year, said Wardell.

And the cutting of programs will inevitably be followed by cutting jobs, according to Wardell. More than 80 percent of the district’s budget is used to pay teachers’ and other district employees’ salaries.

Over 450 school administrators from around California attended the four-hour session, led by the School Services of California, an education advocacy group based in Sacramento.

The one shred of hope officials received came from the governor’s proposal to loosen restrictions on a chunk of schools’ state funding — its categorical budget — so that each district can apportion funds according to its own immediate financial needs, said Wardell. The categorical funds cover some employee salaries, including paraeducators, computer lab workers and administrative staff, and instructional materials, among other items.

However, Wardell said that the workshop leaders acknowledged that part of the budget proposal will likely provide the “life support” for schools taking the otherwise brutal hit.

About 40 percent of the Barstow district’s budget is categorical funding, 40 percent which is state funded and 60 percent coming from the federal government, according to Wardell.

Both Levine and Wardell expressed frustration with the politicking of the governor and legislators in Sacramento, while schools wait to find out what will happen.

“It’s like two bulls in a ring,” said Wardell, “they’re both posturing.”

The Barstow district’s budget committee will discuss how to move forward at its meeting Thursday in the district office board room at 551 S. Avenue H. The meeting begins at 3 p.m. and the public may attend as observers. Wardell noted that the committee will discuss suggestions from the public, including 87 that have already come in. Anyone with suggestions can contact the Barstow Unified School District’s business office at (760) 255-6010.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com

Barstow school board meeting recap

At its meeting Tuesday night, the Barstow district school board approved all its agenda items, including:

• SNOW DAYS: Submitting a waiver to the California state board requesting that the Barstow district forgo making up three days missed due to the snow in Dec. 2008.

• BAND DONATION: Accepting a band trailer purchased by the Barstow Junior High School Band Boosters for BJHS music department. The 20-foot trailer was decked out with new tires and customized lettering and graphics, and will be used to transport music equipment.