California school districts may find themselves short on cash in the second half of the academic year should the state follow through on a promise to cut K-12 education funding by $1.36 billion if state revenues fall short.

Three years of budget cuts, funding deferrals and the state edict not to lay off teachers have left school districts with little cushion and few options. In crafting the state budget last summer, legislators said educators could absorb midyear cuts by slashing up to seven more days from the end of the school year. But that's not likely to happen, local educators say.

"That is such a drastic measure and such bad policy, I can't imagine any district would consider using that flexibility," said Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, superintendent of Placer County schools.

The Legislative Analyst's Office said last month that California faces a budget shortfall of $3.7 billion this fiscal year, largely the result of optimistic tax revenue projections that state lawmakers counted on when they drafted the budget.

Unlike past years, the shortfall this time could trigger automatic cuts to public schools. As part of the summer budget agreement, lawmakers designated $2.5 billion in midyear reductions to a range of programs, including K-12 districts, if midyear projections show revenues falling short by June 2012.

Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, during another period of belt-tightening, California cut its minimum school year requirement from 180 days to 175. In approving this year's budget, lawmakers said districts could go as low as 168 days.

A letter to the governor from a cadre of organizations representing school officials calls the idea of cutting days from this school year "virtually unworkable." Given the logistics involved, they say most school districts would not be able to cut the year to 168 days, even if they had the will.

Shortening the school year requires an agreement between districts and their employee unions, and not all districts have the legal authority to reopen contracts. Districts that can broach the issue are expected to face resistance from employees who, in many cases, already have absorbed furlough days and made other concessions.

Teachers also may be reluctant to cut the school year because doing so increases the time it takes to accumulate service credit toward pensions. They must work at least 175 days to qualify for a year of service credit, said California State Teachers' Retirement System spokesman Ricardo Duran.

"Shortening the school year is a legislative solution, and it's a negotiable item," said Priscilla Cox, president of the Elk Grove Unified school board. "Who knows if it can be negotiated or not."

More than half the state's districts already offer fewer than 180 days of school.

"It's terrible," said David Gordon, Sacramento County schools chief. "We should be ashamed and embarrassed to be affording so little school time to our kids."

Locally, the Elk Grove, Twin Rivers and Natomas Unified school districts have a school year of 175 days, while Folsom Cordova Unified is at 178 days and Sacramento City Unified is at 177. San Juan Unified has retained a 180-day calendar. Most schools in Placer County also have managed to retain a 180-day school year.

"There is this whole issue of inequity in how this is being done statewide," Gordon said. "In many of the more affluent districts they have a (charitable) foundation and they have been able to pass parcel taxes, and they aren't cutting the school year at all.

"I'm surprised there hasn't been a legal challenge."

Twin Rivers Unified spokeswoman Trinette Marquis said the district's teachers union won't discuss the possibility of shortening the school year until state cuts are finalized in January, making it almost impossible to negotiate in time for changes to take effect by June.

Natomas Unified interim Superintendent Walt Hanline is opposed to cutting the school year any further. "To cut the instructional year would destine our children to a second-class education," Hanline said. "I will never recommend that."

Cox said Elk Grove Unified also is reluctant to dig further into classroom time. The district, which could be in the hole up to $16 million if state triggers hit, will find the money somewhere else, she said.

The trend toward a shorter school year in California goes against directives from President Barack Obama, who has urged states to add classroom hours. He has said U.S. students are losing ground to their counterparts around the world, some of whom attend school 220 days a year.

"California is going against the grain," said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education at UC Berkeley. "Research is quite consistent that classroom time – after teacher quality – is probably the most valuable resource related to gains in student achievement."

Educators are calling for a reprieve from midyear cuts, but they aren't hopeful. Many districts expect to turn to their reserves to get through, but some don't have enough in the bank.

So schools boards are scurrying to find some way to fill the looming budget gap. Cutting teachers, whose salaries are the largest single expenditure for school districts, is off the table at the direction of state legislators.

"The frustration for board members is that we are the ones that look like we are making those decisions when it actually has been taken out of our hands," Cox said.

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