LAKE COUNTY — With a state budget deficit estimated at $17.2 billion, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his May budget revise suggested getting more out of the state”s lottery, a plan that would include borrowing against anticipated revenues.
But the uncertainty of the budget-fix puts area educators, who met this week to discuss budgeting under the governor”s proposed $4.3 billion in cuts to public education, “between a rock and a hard spot,” according to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck.
Each of the county”s seven school districts issued final layoff notices this month, and must come up with a budget by June. But the state may not pass its budget until the end of the summer, meaning it”s even more difficult for administrators to decide if they can rescind the pink slips they handed out.
Meanwhile, neighboring states are beginning to poach California”s youngest educators.
“Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, they”re all saying ?come work for our state.” These are the newest teachers ? the most recently trained, and most enthusiastic and most vulnerable,” Geck said.
Voters could decide as early as on the November ballot whether the lottery borrowing plan goes through. If it doesn”t, a 1-cent sales tax increase would make up the loss, adding about $6 billion to the state”s budget per year.
Republican lawmakers are already being vocal against such a tax increase.
“The Legislature is not agreeing to these types of strategies, so it”s still very tenuous out there,” Geck said.
Fourth and fifth grade Special Education para-educator Doreen McGuire-Grigg told Lake County”s story of layoffs to a crowd of 300-plus on the Capitol steps Tuesday ? included in the crowd were state Legislators. McGuire-Grigg was the only person from the county who spoke at the event, her co-speakers at the “Cuts Hurt” event were the California Teacher”s Association president, vice president and secretary.
“This decrease in categorical programs funding, such as class size reduction, means squeezing more students into already overcrowded classrooms. It also offers no cost of living adjustment to any education program. That means less money to help recruit and retain quality teachers. And as our school districts pay more for gas to fuel school buses and more for operating expenses, our schools will once again be expected to do more with less,” McGuire-Grigg said.
Upper Lake High School Principal and Superintendent Pat Iaccino said the school is “getting creative” to combat the budget cuts, including purchasing a van for school sports” transportation, which will use less gas and be less expensive than a school bus. The school will lose its woodshop program, an elective, and sent pink slips to one teacher and three classified employees. Iaccino is further worried the school could lose forest reserve money.
“Those are federal dollars based on the number of homes in the area that can”t be built because of forest lands. We get $130,000 per year from that. Now there”s talk that Sept. 10, the federal government is going to end that ? in some districts [in Northern California] that”s most of their funding, so they would have to shut down, and students be bused. That is a major issue,” Iaccino said. He operates an approximately $4 million budget for the school, and anticipates losing between $300,000 to $600,000 due to state budget cuts.
Kelseyville District Superintendent Boyce McClain issued layoff notices to 14.2 certificated staff ? 12 teachers, one Vice Principal at the high school, one guidance counselor and one day of a school psychologist (the .2 of the figure). Thirty-one classified positions ? equaling 10-and-a-half full-time positions ? received layoff notices.
At Lakeport, eight classified employees and one teacher received layoff notices, but only two of those classified staff will be without a job because the others will retire.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
