Editorial: State budget mess begins to be felt in schools

If you want to see the face of California's budget dilemma, look at the public schools. If you do, it will be clear that reducing spending alone will not solve the state's fiscal problem – unless the governor and legislators want local school districts to make truly draconian cuts.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed K-12 education budget for 2008-2009 makes the largest cuts ever for public schools in California – $4.3 billion. That works out to about $750 less per student, or about $400,000 less per school. Others have presented alternatives. But all of the proposals either rely on huge cuts, a shift of cuts to other programs or revenue increases with no cuts.

Legislative Republicans propose to cut education less than the governor, but they make it up by cutting more from public assistance programs – cutting the social safety net just as the state is in an economic downturn.

The Democrats don't yet have a proposal, other than Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata's admonition that they won't balance the budget on the backs of children.

To see what cuts of $750 per student mean, consider the Sacramento City Unified School District. With 55,700 students and a budget of $433.5 million, this district is planning for a $24.5 million budget cut.

The school board has lopped out $20.6 million by increasing ninth-grade class sizes, cutting administrative posts, encouraging retirements, paying for maintenance with bonds, renegotiating various copier and paper contracts, eliminating assistant principals at the high schools, shifting six year-round schools to a nine-month calendar and increasing fees.

That leaves $3.9 million to go. To get it, the board is considering cutting middle school music teachers, combining band and orchestra classes. As one teacher said, this would be like teaching chemistry and biology in the same class period. The board also is considering closing Success Academy, a school for children with behavioral problems. It's looking at increasing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade (though hundreds of parents and students showed up to oppose this); closing schools, eliminating Regional Transit subsidies for students and teacher stipends for extracurricular activities; and reducing staff salaries and benefits.

Elk Grove Unified, with 62,300 students, is facing cuts of $25.3 million. This district also plans to increase ninth-grade class sizes, cut coaches and resource teachers, leave administrative positions vacant, reduce textbook purchases, cut summer school offerings and more.

The district was considering increasing kindergarten class sizes, but decided instead to spend down reserves. However, the district already had counted those reserves toward the $25 million in needed cuts, so they'll have to find the money elsewhere.

Is this really what the people of California want?

Revised state budget numbers are due May 14 and are likely to show a worsened financial situation. As in the 1992 fiscal crisis, it's clear that black or white positions, such as all cuts or all tax increases, won't work. This budget situation is bad enough that a balance of all options will be required. Seven weeks remain to produce a budget. It's time to move beyond rhetorical positions and get down to real negotiations.