Interim Superintendent’s Budget Message

 Over the last five years, the State of California has faced a fiscal crisis of unparalleled magnitude. Sparked by the housing crisis, ever rising unemployment rates, and revenue loss from businesses closing or leaving the state, California’s annual budget has fallen nearly $90 billion in this same amount of time.

As state revenues fell, school districts watched their budgets slashed year after year. Compounding the deep budget cuts to education was the state’s practice of providing “deficit” funding amounts to public agencies. This practice has resulted in schools and other agencies receiving approximately eighty cents of every dollar owed to them.

As revenues dropped over the years, expenditures in the Wright School District continued to rise, and exceeded the revenue received. The District met its fiscal obligations each year by lowering the reserve level and decreasing the ending fund balance. Reserve funds are set aside for use in the event of a “rainy day,” and with annual budget cuts to education, most would agree it’s been “raining” in the world of education for quite some time. This draw down of the reserves and depletion of the ending fund balance however, has reached critical levels in the district, and presents a true challenge in maintaining fiscal solvency as we move into the future.

State Budget Development

Last year, in an attempt to force the legislature to take positive steps to reduce state spending pay down the debt, Governor Brown’s 2011-12 budget proposed an extension of certain taxes, and included “Trigger” cuts to education if the legislature failed to extend those taxes. These trigger cuts presented districts with the challenging task of building a budget that could withstand a potential $250/student mid-year revenue cut. Ultimately, the tax extensions were not approved, and the “triggers” were “pulled,” resulting in a $13/student revenue loss for this year’s (2011-12) budget, as well as a 50% reduction in transportation funding.

Wright School District has experienced a decrease in revenue for each of the three years prior to 2012. As revenues fell, one time monies from federal and state sources, including funds from the Federal Education Jobs Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and State Fiscal Stabilization funds, were used to cushion the revenue cuts. At the same time as revenues dropped, the District and employee groups worked together to effect a number of budget solutions which, when combined with federal and state one-time funds, assisted the District in balancing the budget. All of the employees in the District helped carry the burden of the loss in revenue, offering budget solutions which included reductions in employee hours, combining of positions, and a reduction in the number of work days for all employees. In the end though, even with federal and state funds to support district expenditures, and even when coupled with reductions in the number of work days/hours, the district continued, year after year, to spend more than was received.

2012-13 Governor’s Budget Proposal

Within the last two weeks, Governor Brown announced his 2012-13 proposed budget for California. The budget is considered “flat funding,” however, the budget proposes to further increase the deficit (the actual amount that districts receive), and contains another round of “Trigger” language. Governor Brown is proposing to place a tax measure on the November ballot in an effort to balance the budget. If voters do not approve the proposed taxes, education, including Wright School District, will face an estimated $370/student mid-year revenue cut. In dollars, this is a projected $581,000 loss to our district’s budget next year (2012-13), and in ongoing years. In addition to the trigger cuts, the Governor has also proposed an elimination of all transportation funding to schools. This would mean an additional loss of $154,000 for the Wright School District next year.

Glimmers of Hope

As a small ray of sunshine in next year’s budget, if the tax initiatives pass, Governor Brown has proposed to begin paying back some of what is owed to schools. He also proposed a change in the way state categorical program funds are allocated to schools, offering a weighted student funding formula. It’s not clear how Wright School District will fare in this proposed formula, however, we remain hopeful that additional financial assistance to support the great work of our teachers, administrators and support staff will be on the way.

Developing a “Balanced” Budget…2012-13 and Beyond

The Wright School District, along with all districts in Sonoma County, is required to submit our annual budget to the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) for county office approval in June. Our budget must be developed to reflect compliance with the Governor’s Budget proposal (or any changes agreed to by the legislature as announced at the Governor’s May revision). SCOE is required by law to analyze each district’s budget, and to assure that the district can meet its fiscal obligations for the current year, and two subsequent years.

Reflections on Education; Gratitude to our Staff, Parents, and the Community

As a teacher, administrator and citizen of this great state, I am deeply disappointed in our inability as a state, to place education as a top priority as an investment in our future. In my many years in public service, I have been fortunate to work with the greatest of individuals, and in my humble opinion, the work of the caring, dedicated, and talented employees of the Wright School District, and our colleagues in districts across this state, is deserving of so much better.

These are indeed challenging times for everyone in public service. As we move into the budget development process for next year, it will be important that we strengthen our resolve, and come together in the development of viable solutions. I want to assure all of our staff that we will approach this process in a spirit of collaboration and open communication, as we have done in the past. As we seek solutions, it will be important that our staff and our community are provided opportunities to review district priorities, share thoughts and ideas regarding solutions, and keep our children’s learning at the forefront of our decisions.

I have provided regular budget updates to the members of our Governing Board and key stakeholders regarding the state of the budget, and I will be visiting each of our schools within the next few weeks to share the details of the Governor’s Budget proposal. At that meeting, staff will be provided an opportunity for input regarding district priorities and the development of the budget. We are fortunate to have a number of communication processes in place which keep our stakeholder groups informed regarding district initiatives. These key groups include PACT, the Superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee, School Site Council/Governance bodies, Parent Teacher Clubs, English Learner Advisory Committees, and collaborative bargaining meetings with our certificated and classified staff.

Now is the time for us to come together as educational professionals, to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of every member of our staff, and to collaboratively seek solutions to the challenges ahead. We’ve already weathered much of the storm, and I know that working together, we will continue to create a future that is sustainable for our staff, and which provides a high quality education for all of our children.

Sincerely,

Karen

Karen Salvaggio, Ed. D.

Interim Superintendent