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Budget Saving Ideas: The Budget Suggestion webpage is now closed. Thank you to everyone that submitted an idea. We are currently compiling all suggestions and will post the final results within the next few days. See a sampling of suggestions  . |
General Budget
How much is San Diego Unified required to cut?
Based on the Governor’s Budget proposal, the district must cut $80 million from the 2008/09 budget.
What about Proposition 98, doesn’t that guarantee a minimum level of funding for schools?
The Governor has proposed a suspension of Proposition 98 for 2008-09, due to California’s current fiscal emergency. Therefore, he is free to make these types of drastic cuts to education.
Specifically, what has the Governor proposed cut from California’s public education system?
- A 10% cut to all school district general fund budgets
- A 6.5% cut to:
A) Special Education
B) Class Size Reduction
C) Instructional Materials
D) Home to School Transportation
E) Supplemental Instruction
F) Supplemental school counseling
G) Career Technical Programs
H) Child Development Centers
What can I do to protest this?
Visit the “California Budget Crisis: What Can You Do?” webpage available in either English or Spanish.
Is San Diego Unified the only school district facing these cuts?
No, school districts across the state of California are affected by the Governor’s proposal. The budget crisis is not a matter of school districts mismanaging finances; it is a matter of the state of California being immersed in a fiscal
emergency. Other factors such as declining enrollment also have an impact.
What is San Diego Unified proposing to cut?
Due to the very large dollar amount we have to reduce, everything is on the table as we reduce programs, materials and staff. Limitations of law and labor contracts influence what is proposed.
When will you know exactly what reductions are going to be made?
The district is required by law to provide certificated (teaching) staff with a notice of possible reassignment or lay-off by March 15. The Board of Education approved this action at the March 11 board meeting. Classified employees must be notified 45 days prior to the end of the school year. Action will be taken at the April 22 board meeting. School boards must adopt a budget by June 30 for the coming year. While it is hoped the state budget will be adopted by June 15 so the Board will know what resources will be available, the district budget will be adopted using the best information available. Modifications will be made later as new information is received.
How many positions will be impacted?
The number of certificated employees who received possible lay-off notification is 903. The number of classified employees is unknown pending board approval on April 22.
Will everyone receive a pink slip?
No, only positions that are impacted by the reductions will be noticed. Per Education Code, employees who are impacted by a lay-off or a reassignment have seniority and bumping rights. Additional recalls could occur as new information becomes available.
Will everyone who receives a pink slip be laid off?
The final number won’t be tabulated until May 15 when the Governor’s revised budget is published. Some employees may be recalled but there is no guarantee.
In the past, the district has said there will be a deficit and when all is said and done, they end up with millions of dollars more than expected. What’s different this year?
The Board of Education must approve the district budget prior to the State budget being approved. What makes this year different from previous years is that the Governor is proposing the most dramatic cuts to education in California’s history. Every district in California is looking at reductions and layoffs. San Diego Unified cannot count on any deficit in this year’s budget being eliminated.
What is ADA?
The state of California funds school districts based on student attendance at school, also known as Average Daily Attendance (ADA). ADA is calculated by dividing the total number of days of student attendance by the number of days school is taught during the same period. The district’s lost funding rate in March is approx. $50 a day for each day a student is absent. The loss in income from an absence doesn’t easily translate into reduced pay for the teacher or lower utility costs which makes balancing of school budgets difficult.
How does ADA impact the budget?
Example: Student Mark came to school every day. The district received $5,786.66 for him.
Example: Student Linda missed 20 days this school year. The ADA is 180 days less 20 for a total of 160 days. The district received approximately $4,800 for her.
Example: A school with 500 students had 25 students absent every day, at a cost of approx. $50 per student per day, equaling a loss of $225,000 for the school year.
What's the possibility of doing a parcel tax to help secure local control of tax revenue?
Parcel taxes are a flat tax based on an individual piece of property – a “parcel” – and not the assessed value. Such a tax needs approval by two-thirds of the voters. There is not sufficient time to hold an election and collect funds for inclusion in the 2008-09 budget. It’s not something we are considering at this time.
>> Learn more about parcel tax election trends.
Salaries/Benefits
In the past, the district has offered a "Golden Handshake" or early retirement benefits to help offset costs -- will this be an option?
An early buyout or "Golden Handshake" is not currently a fiscally viable option for us, and is not among the recommendations going to the Board of Education for consideration in budget reductions/suggestions.
Why are employees getting salary increases when positions are being eliminated?
The wage increases were negotiated through collective bargaining prior to the release of the Governor’s proposed budget in January. Under the California Educational Employee Relations Act, the district cannot unilaterally implement changes to employee wages.
Why can’t Health Benefit plans be changed, salaries frozen or raises rolled back to avoid the loss of jobs?
Salaries and benefits are negotiated exclusively with the Union representing employees and cannot be changed without reaching agreement with Union and the district. These items are in the employee contracts and cannot be bargained except during certain time periods or under certain conditions as defined in each contract.
Why does the district have to cover me on their insurance when I don’t need it due to coverage under my spouse’s plan?
The current plan administrator, VEBA, does not allow any employee to “opt” out of coverage. This also includes married couples that both work in the district. We are obligated to pay for two insurance premiums for a married couple versus paying for just one plan which would provide each employee insurance coverage. We have a Health and Welfare Benefits Committee, which is made up of bargaining unit and district representatives. This committee continues to look for the best insurance coverage at a reasonable rate as well as other cost containment strategies.
Where does the funding for transportation come from? The cost of gas must be astronomical to bus all of the kids to their schools. Is there any way to cut from there?
There is no federal or state funding for school buses. The funding San Diego Unified uses for operating its transportation comes from restricted accounts - specifically TIIG/Title I and Special Education. Only 15% of our students are bussed – about 21,900 daily. Federal law requires that transportation be offered for some Special Education children and under provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act.
I know some other districts charge for buses – and students can buy a yearly pass or use tokens as needed. Can we charge students to ride the bus?
Charging a fee is an option under the law if the same is offered for all students. There is not enough capacity to make this offer to our entire population. A fee cannot be charged under the law to students on free/reduced lunch – that would include more than 85% of the students currently receiving busing so no fee is allowable.
Can we put a freeze on bussing kids out of their neighborhood school area?
Busing in San Diego Unified is only provided for students in Special Education, NCLB and the VEEP/Magnet (Integration) programs – the first two are required by law. Currently, there isn’t enough room at all neighborhood schools to accommodate all the students within their boundary.
Additionally, NCLB would still require a choice to a non-program improvement schools.
Can we put advertising on our school buses to generate revenue?
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) currently does not allow advertising on the outside of school buses. However, the inside could be a viable alternative. We’d need to work with parent groups and others to see how they’d feel about it, and what would be appropriate.
Why do I sometimes see only a few students on a bus?
Buses with low ridership are a result of a program being located far away from the student’s residence – usually for district wide magnet schools, Special Education, etc. In addition, the district tries to maximize efficiencies by using the same bus for multiple routes. A bus may have just completed one route, dropped off students, and is going on a second route so the bus appears empty.
