Gary Thomas, Ed.D. County Superintendent

Superintendent's Message

State Budget Passage To Hurt County Schools

While the California Legislature finally was able to pass a contentious state budget to help close a $42-billion shortfall, there was no reason to celebrate the passage for those who support public education.

The budget, which calls for mid-year reductions, as well as additional cuts for K-12 public education funding in 2009-10, totals $8.6 billion over the next 17 months. It also calls for roughly $2 billion in cuts from Proposition 98 funding, thus reducing the minimum funding guarantee to schools and districts over the long-term. What this means for our San Bernardino County public schools is a reduction in per pupil funding of approximately $846 per student in a unified school district.

Parents of county K-12 students and their communities don't have to do the math to know that these cuts are going to be devastating to our schools. Districts have been bracing and planning for the cuts to public education, but the bottom line is these cuts are going to have severe consequences for the staff, programs and services they offer.

As I mentioned this month in my State of Education Address, the reports of cuts from districts across San Bernardino County are heart-wrenching. These cuts will take the form of teachers, administrators and classified employees; art, music and sports programs; after-school and tutoring programs; nurses, counselors and librarians; real genuine people and real services for students. Districts are left with no other choice than to plan for the worst.

The impact these reductions may have on student achievement should not be discounted. Last year, county schools grew by 12 points on the state's Academic Performance Index Growth report, the biggest one year gain since 2004. In addition, 28 county schools reached the state performance target of 800, the most since state testing was first reported in 1999.

Yet, our schools still are challenged with closing achievement and access gaps, as well as reducing dropout rates. More than 55 percent of county students receive free and reduced lunch, 22 percent are English Learners and 76 percent are ethnically diverse. It is our students with the greatest needs that I fear will be most harmed by disastrous budget cuts. They have the potential to exacerbate the access and achievement gaps we are working so desperately hard to address.

The state's budget crisis, coupled with the national economic downturn, has severe consequences for all Californians, but the consequences to our schools will have long-term effects. If we are going to secure the future economy of this state and nation, our funding of public schools is an investment we cannot afford to cut.

There remain many unanswered questions in this package as voters will decide the fate of several of the budget issues in a May special election, however, the budget provides our districts with assumptions on which to plan. Unfortunately, they are assumptions that will mean real cuts, real programs and real staff for many of our districts.

I believe our solutions remain in long-term, structural reform to the budget process and to school funding in order to adequately fund California's public schools, rather than annually subjecting our schools to the roller-coaster budget deliberations that take place in the state capitol.