UPPER LAKE ? The ongoing state budget crisis meant more teachers and classified staff were cut from Lake County schools in a unanimous vote Wednesday night.
The Upper Lake Union High School District Board of Directors finalized the termination of 11 positions in the district, including five teachers, an outreach counselor and five classified positions. Of particular interest to students and parents who spoke to the board were layoff notices given to the school”s music teacher and its outreach counselor.
“When I grow up, I want to be a music teacher, and without my music program I would have no direction as to what I”m doing. Some kids, that”s the only reason they come to school,” ULHS student Kimberly Valadez said.
Parent Renata Roman and others implored the board to not lay off the high school”s outreach counselor, Judy Cox. Roman said Cox had helped her son through problems with discrimination by his classmates because of his dark skin color.
“Judy is one of your staff members who really understands people from a diverse background,” Roman said.
Upper Lake Teachers Association President Paulette Alcouffe said the association and the California Teachers Association would be trying to raise public awareness about the upcoming special election in May, and encouraging voters to pass the measures that would offer alternative budgeting methods.
“People should be irate that the state is choosing to balance its budget on the backs of students,” Alcouffe said.
District Superintendent and Principal Pat Iaccino thanked students who had staged a walkout earlier that day to protest budget cuts, and other concerned audience members, for their comments. Iaccino said several factors contributed to the decision, including a shrinking tax base, declining enrollment and state funding cuts.
“This board is faced with cuts that have never been faced in education”s history,” Iaccino said.
The budget approved was the district”s second interim budget, one of three annual budgeting processes, according to district Business Manager Sue Milhaupt. It includes funding for the current year and a two-year projection. Milhaupt said the state budget, adopted in March, included $250,000 of cuts to the district”s current year and $275,000 of cuts for the 2009-10 school year.
Iaccino said declining enrollment at Lucerne Elementary and Upper Lake Elementary, both feeder schools for the high school, will mean approximately $700,000 less average daily attendance (ADA) funding during the next five years. He said the district is anticipating an enrollment drop of approximately 100 students during that time.
Milhaupt said the problem is additionally compounded by cash flow problems that may mean the school will have to borrow against its property taxes from a treasury account held by the County of Lake.
“Not only are they cutting our budget, but they”re deferring our payments,” Milhaupt said.
June”s payment is expected a month late; July and August payments are expected in October and a December payment won”t come until April 2010, she said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
