School budgets squeezed

Laying off teachers, school bus drivers, librarians and counselors. Adding more kids to every classroom. Charging students fees to play sports. Getting rid of music.

In e-mails and newsletters, during board meetings and rallies, school districts across California are telling parents that they have to do these things – and more – because of budget cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Today they'll say it again during a news conference at Valley High School, where leaders from Sacramento's biggest school districts will join the state superintendent to blast Schwarzenegger's proposal to slash $4 billion from next year's K-12 education budget. It's part of a budget-bashing tour Superintendent Jack O'Connell is making around California.

Lawmakers in the Capitol know the governor's January budget proposal is just a starting point for political negotiations. The budget battle could stretch months beyond a July 1 deadline before lawmakers and the governor reach a final deal.

But school boards are on a different calendar. They must figure out this spring how to pay for next school year. And with an especially bleak budget picture and proposals to cut education funding by 10 percent, the calendar clash this year is more powerful than usual.

"The irony is that the more difficult the state budget is, the longer it takes legislators to resolve it. But in the meantime, we suffer the consequences," said Steve Enoch, superintendent of the San Juan Unified School District, which is considering cuts of more than $5 million from its $396 million budget.

"It is quite an issue for public education."

By March 15, school districts must issue preliminary layoff notices to administrators and teachers they may not be able to employ in the fall. The pink slips aren't final – they can be rescinded in May if the budget situation improves.

Still, the deadlines mean that even while politicians are months away from agreeing on a final budget, school districts must start their slashing now.

"It's going to be tough for these school boards," said Rick Pratt, assistant executive director of the California School Boards Association.

"They're going to want to be sure to issue enough of these layoff notices to cover themselves. … But at the same time, the impact on morale is something I'm sure they would want to avoid."

Across the state, districts have already given layoff notices to at least 5,000 teachers, according to the California Teachers Association. Many, many more are expected in the next two weeks, said union President David Sanchez.

The alarm bells and panic memos coming from the state's educators reflect more than just a timing problem. They reflect the politics involved in paying for schools in California, said Paul Warren, an education expert in the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

"This is the time of the process where they're out there telling people how bad this situation is for them," Warren said.

"They can't just say, 'We know it's going to get better, so just lay low and let it blow over.' Part of the whole process is they have to make a fuss. They have to stand up for themselves."

Budget panic has become an annual routine for the people who run California's public schools. But the urgency is much greater this year because of the size of the cuts that have been proposed, Warren said.

His office has offered an alternative to Schwarzenegger's call to reduce state spending by 10 percent across the board. The legislative analyst suggests cutting education by about $2 billion, instead of the $4 billion the governor proposed.

The Education Coalition – which includes administrator and school board groups, employee unions and the Parent Teacher Association – isn't crazy about that plan either.

"It's right between where the governor would fund us and where we would be funded if there were no cuts," said Pratt, of the school boards association.

"It still would result in very deep cuts at the local level."

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall, (916) 321-1083. Bee staff writers Kim Minugh, Walt Yost and Melissa Nix contributed to this report.