Coming to the End of the Tunnel?

Last week, Governor Brown released his May Revise of the 2011-2012 California budget. As a result of unexpected tax revenue, he has proposed providing an additional $3 billion to schools. This is excellent news, the kind that we have not received in many years.

Remember that Brown's January budget proposal would have kept school funding nearly flat, but relied on the extension of a number of taxes that otherwise expire this year. The $3 billion addition is on top of that level. It wouldn't be direct funding to schools, but would allow the state to cancel some of the deferrals that the state has used as a gimmick to balance their budget.

The latest proposal also relies on the extension of most of the taxes, and would therefore require the vote of some Republican legislators. However, there is reason to be optimistic that even if the taxes are not extended, schools will remain largely unscathed.

First, the remaining state deficit is $6 billion, rather than the $12 billion we were facing in January. Therefore, the schools' share of a "cuts-only" budget would now be about $3 billion. That would likely result in the reinstatement of the cancelled deferrals. While these deferrals would be a hardship for some school districts, Berryessa's budget can withstand this "hit."

Secondly, the increased tax revenue means that the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee has gone up since the beginning of the year. Since a majority of legislators have said they would vote against suspending Prop. 98, an all-cuts budget would still likely result in Brown's January school spending levels.

What does all this mean for Berryessa? If even the scenario that I described in the previous paragraph occurs, our district would be able to avoid most of the service cuts we have been wrestling with this spring. That is excellent news.

Tonight, the Board will be meeting to discuss the latest budget information and how to move forward. We must decide how big of a risk it would be to bring back all employees immediately, or whether we should wait a little longer to see how the budget negotiations play out in Sacramento.

Thanks go to parents, teachers, and other stakeholders, who have spent the past month lobbying for adquate education funding. It is clear that our cries have been heard. With the good news that we are receiving about the budget, it looks like we might finally be coming to the end of the tunnel.

UPDATE: The Board has decided to rescind the layoff notices and rehire all the teachers affected by the previous actions. In addition, the district will reinstate three middle school counseling positions, the three middle school assistant principals, the teachers advisors, and the program specialist. Other positions, including elementary music and PE teachers, the remaining counselor/social workers, and the district librarian, remain to be decided in June. Upshot for K-3 classrooms - class size will remain at about 24 students for 2011-2012.