Budget calls for bigger classes, fewer aides
Sweetwater proposal hurts kids, teachers say
2:00 a.m. June 18, 2009
South County middle and high schools will have larger class sizes, fewer special-education aides and a scaled-back summer session under a budget trustees will consider in a special meeting June 29.
Sweetwater Union High School District's board tentatively approved $11.6 million in spending cuts this spring based on its calculations of how much its funding from the state will decrease as a result of California's fiscal crisis.
The result is a $344 million budget for the year that begins July 1. Despite the large cuts, spending is down less than 1 percent from the budget the board approved last June. Because the cost of business goes up – salaries, utilities, fuel, books – school boards have to make cuts just to keep overall spending levels flat.
The budget also assumes that the present pupil-to-teacher ratio of 28-to-1 will rise to 30-to-1. That would save $5.4 million a year because it would allow fewer teachers to educate 42,000 seventh-through 12th-graders. By the teachers union's estimate, it would mean about 50 fewer teaching jobs.
Class size has to be negotiated with the union. The union and the district are at impasse in negotiations to renew a contract that expired a year ago.
Board President Jim Cartmill said that he believes the two sides will reach agreement because union leaders realize that salaries and benefits eat up about 85 percent of the budget.
“It's either going to be cutting people or increasing the class size,” Cartmill said.
But Chuck Patterson, vice president of the teachers union and a U.S. history teacher at Otay Ranch High School, said the district's proposal hurts teachers and students.
“We believe that lower class sizes lead to higher productivity, higher test scores and overall improvement in learning,” Patterson said.
A negotiating session is scheduled for tomorrow. If there's no agreement before the July 27 start of the school year, the district can impose its class-size increase. The union can challenge it by filing a complaint with the state's Public Employment Relations Board.
District budget architects have found other savings through a reorganization of administration that is projected to save $2 million. The district expects to save an additional $700,000 by reducing the number of special-education aides it employs and $450,000 by limiting summer school classes to seniors and special-education students.
The board had been scheduled to adopt the budget Monday night, but it postponed action because the spending plan calls for $26,000 in deficit spending. Trustees said that although the amount is small, it is symbolically important not to spend beyond their means, and they asked their chief financial officer to come back with an adjusted plan.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/18/1sz18budget1970-budget-calls-bigger-classes-fewer-/?uniontrib
1 comment:
This is on the district web site. Maybe they should remove it as they intend to get rid of at least 50 teachers and special ed aides this summer.
WAKE UP OUT THERE....
http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/news/2009/06/sweetwater-district-board-of-t.html
Sweetwater District Board of Trustees Balance Budget with NO Layoffs
Also being proactive for future financial uncertainties
One month before state-mandated requirements, the Sweetwater Union High School District Board of Trustees has created a balanced budget--with no layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts.
In a special board meeting last week, the board approved $1.15 million in cuts, bringing the total amount of program cuts to nearly $4 million. The board also agreed to increasing class size to 30:1, for a $5.4 million savings. All together, the district has approved $11.6 million in cuts - including reorganizing the district office for a savings of $2 million - without laying off a single employee, imposing furloughs or cutting salaries.
"This has been one of the most difficult financial times in the district's history," said board President Jim Cartmill. "We have fulfilled our promise of not laying off employees, because we know how important every employee is in the education of our students."
In addition to the cuts, the Board of Trustees put into place other cost savings to handle any additional funding reductions the state may impose upon the district.
The board unanimously approved a scaled-back summer school, resulting in an additional $4 million, and it is holding the recently received federal stimulus funding to weather cuts expected from the May revise of the state budget.
"We all know how unstable the state funding has been," Cartmill said. "We want to ensure we can withstand any future funding issues, without affecting students in the classroom."
The Sweetwater District will be creating a list of resources for parents and students needing academic assistance during the summer. Updates will be posted to the district's website: www.sweetwaterschools.org
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