Talk of a new middle school has stopped as the gravity of the Scotts Valley Unified School District’s financial situation becomes clear.
The school district — which by law must budget three years in advance — has projected that if state and federal funding sources remain as expected, the district will face a $345,000 deficit next year, a $543,000 deficit in the 2011-12 fiscal year and a $1.9 million deficit in 2012-13.
According to projections, the deficit in 2012-13 would deplete the district’s unrestricted reserves to $9,300. The following year, the district would have a $1.9 million shortfall.
“We can’t wait to fall off this cliff,” chief business official Karen Jelcick told the district’s board of trustees Tuesday, March 9.
Jelcick said the district must slash $1.9 million from the budget over two years or find a way to pay the deficit before the 2012-13 school year. Jelcick put forth the idea that money could be raised or cuts made over two years at $950,000 per year.
In budget-reducing moves, the district has already increased class sizes at the elementary schools from a
25-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio to a 29-to-1 ratio by not hiring replacements for six teachers who will retire or leave the district in June.
The board also voted to cut the equivalent of 3.2 teaching positions at Scotts Valley High School, though it hopes to retain either some or all of the teachers when final budget numbers come in.
In response to the future deficit, Jelcick suggested several solutions to bridge the funding gap, including a temporary parcel tax, furloughs and additional cuts.
“After we’ve gone to 29-1, we need some help,” Jelcick told the board. “I honestly don’t know where we can find $950,000 in support services.”
The need to cut and find creative funding solutions has emerged as revenue has dropped from both the state and federal government.
One-time American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money will dry up in 2011, and next year, the state will likely give the district about $4,800 per student per year, down from a high of $6,500 per student several years ago, said school board member Allison Niday.
Niday has traveled to Sacramento to work with the California School Boards Association on solutions to stabilize the up-and-down nature of school funding, but nothing has materialized.
Board members have also met informally with community members and groups to find out if a parcel tax is something people would support.
A parcel tax of $98 per year would generate roughly $700,000 for the district.
Board member Jondi Gumz plans to talk with senior citizens at the senior center and the Montevalle community, and Larry Beamen has spoken with the Senior Coalition, which opposes a parcel tax even with an exemption for seniors, he said.
During Tuesday’s board meeting, board president Michael Shulman asked parents and community members to form a group that will learn about funding issues and then educate others in the community about the plight of the school system.
“If any of you are interested in engaging in some sort of endeavor like this, get us your name and e-mail (address), because we need help,” Shulman said at Tuesday’s meeting.
