This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Dire Situation for County Schools

The 32nd District PTA's informational program, open to the public Monday night, explained school funding and the current budget situation for county school districts.

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District, along with others in the county, will face huge cuts if an “all cuts” budget goes into effect.

Bill Clark, Contra Costa County Office of Education Associate Superintendent for Business and Administrative services, explained that dire budget situation at an informational program hosted by the 32nd District PTA Monday night.

Clark said he is telling all school districts in the county to plan accordingly, so they won’t be caught short.

Find out what's happening in Danvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nancy Vandell, 32nd District PTA vice president for Education and Legislation, said the biggest expenses for schools are teacher salaries, which is 48 percent of the budget.

To offset that, schools in the county are already cutting days out of the school year, with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District at 179 out of 180 days. Some districts in the county have cut to the minimum of 175 days.

Find out what's happening in Danvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“If the Legislature gives them the authority, they are going to cut well below these numbers,” Clark said. “The kids are going to be at home in your house with nothing to do for another month of the year.”

He showed a  that shows the district has a positive certification, which means it will meet its financial obligations for the current and subsequent two fiscal years.

The problem is that if an “all cuts” budget goes into effect, then district (highlighted in red) will be have a negative certification.

“[Highlighted in red] is they got no chance,” Clark said. “In every one of those red cases, we are going to have an advisor take over ... Basically, remove some of the authority of the governing board, the local school district, and tell them that they cannot pass contract, rescind purchase orders and hack their programs.”

Clark said he will be doing this to make sure each district will have enough to pay their bills, saying his responsibility is to keep districts out of trouble.

Right now, Clark is already recruiting advisers to help the school districts.  

Vandell said she is concerned that education is falling off a cliff.

The county PTA hopes Governor Jerry Brown will bring the Legislature together to pass revenue extensions. The group is encouraging the public to contact the governor’s office to persuade him to do so.

“It has not been a good path for California,” she said.

Senator Mark DeSaulnier also spoke at the program Monday, saying he avoids making “horrible cuts” when he can.

“This is the worst economic calamity in our lifetime and the second worst in U.S. history,” DeSaulnier said. “We’re between a rock and a hard place.”

He also pointed out that California’s economy is recovering and that it has a gross domestic product of $2 trillion, which shows potential for the state.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?