As President of the SCUSD Board of Education, I am writing to shed light on the current state of SCUSD’s budget. The opinions I express are my own.
SCUSD’s budget will remain uncertain until at least this summer. Please note that:
Proposition 30 prevented a $6 million cut in state aid on top of the almost $9 million in cuts SCUSD already suffered. The Measure A parcel tax plugged a $2.3 million budget shortfall to avoid devastating cuts for our students. Neither ballot measure brought in extra money to restore programs which had previously been cut.
The Governor’s budget proposes a new “Local Control Funding Formula” to calculate how much money districts should receive per pupil. We don’t yet know if Basic Aid districts like SCUSD will retain the level of state categorical aid we received in 2012-2013.
The effects of the federal sequestration on reduced education funding are not yet known.
It is understandable that community members want SCUSD to restore popular programs which were eliminated or reduced over the past decade. However, we must carefully evaluate our budget and bring programs back when there is sustainable funding to maintain those programs into the future.