School district plans for $2.6 million in cuts
The Sonoma Valley Unified School District board met Tuesday evening and was presented with dismal news on the state of the current school budget. Reductions to the tune of almost $2.6 million are coming down the pike for the 2011-2012 school year.
Deputy Superintendent Justin Frese presented the numbers to the board along with a list of potential unprioritized budget cuts for the coming year. Among them, the elimination of class size reduction, the possibility of reducing the school year by as much as five days as well as complete elimination of program funding for senior projects at Sonoma Valley High School, a core program for many graduating seniors in years past.
The school district will host two community forums on the budget reduction process: the first on Monday, October 17 at 5:30 p.m. in the Sonoma Valley High School library and the second on Tuesday, October 18 at 6:30 in the Altimira library. Both meetings will have childcare and Spanish translation.
SVUSD staff and the board anticipate gathering input from the forums as well as information from Sacramento before making decisions and approving the school budget at a meeting in January.
Frese has laid out numerous options where cuts could occur including tiers and relative dollar amounts for each potential cut. Already mentioned, class size reduction for kindergarten through second grade is on the chopping block with a potential savings of between $200,000 and $800,000. Buy back days – non-student days that are used for staff development and result in a salary reduction for all employees – would save between $108,484 and $325,452. Reducing the number of school days in the year by anywhere from one to five days would result in a savings of between $108,484 and $542,420.
The plan to save $2.6 million
• Eliminate core, or intervention, replacement teachers at the elementary sites: $100,478.
• Complete elimination of the senior project program or a 50 percent reduction in funding: $11,500 or $5750 respectively.
• Elimination of AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination): up to $47,562.
• Reduction of the Read 180 reading intervention program: up to $50,970.
• Elimination of GATE funding at middle and elementary schools: $28,311.
• Eliminate or reduce services for high school independent study: up to $210,000.
• Restructure Creekside high school administrative position: $20,049.
• Eliminate program funding for Gateway School: $100,000.
• Eliminate program funding for Teen Parents Program: $30,000.
• Close or reduce service for Sonoma Valley Adult School: up to $400,000.
• Eliminate summer school or reduce offerings including Jumpstart Kindergarten program: up to $255,000.
• Eliminate or reduce offerings for intervention programs: up to $225,000.
• Eliminate or reduce by 50 to 75 percent the funding for high school sports: up to $236,250.
• Eliminate funding for high school co-curricular programs like forensics, ag, CSF, drama, leadership and more: $20,796
• Elimination of middle school sports funding: $51,287.
• Elimination of middle school co-curricular stipends including student activities director, yearbook, jazz band and more: $11,500.
• Eliminate kindergarten through fifth grade counselors: $79,627.
• Eliminate sixth through 12th grade counselors: up to $89,030.
• Reduce office staff at school sites: $76,037.
• SVHS administration reduction: $69,085.
• Reductions in school resource officer: up to $43,200.
• Reductions in student welfare and attendance officer: up to $99,000.
• Reductions in health technicians at all school levels: $20,811.
• Reduce campus supervision at high school level: up to $24,127.
• Reduce campus supervision at middle school level: up to $37,608.
• Reduce noon duty supervision at elementary level: up to $97,283.
• Eliminate academic coordinators and ELL managers: $72,331.
• Reduce library staff at all sites: up to $300,445.
• Eliminate technology support: $50,000.
• Reduce transportation services: Up to $320,000.
• Reduction in custodial services: up to $312,378.
• Reduction in grounds maintenance: $58,350.
• Reduction in maintenance and operations: up to $200,000.
• Reductions at the district office: up to $225,000.
• Discontinue school library improvement program: $265,582.
• Percentage reductions to categorical funding: up to $427,000.
• Special education reductions: $150,000.
One thought on “School district plans for $2.6 million in cuts”
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Wow, that’s about $2 million cut from students and classrooms and $200,000 of unspecified cuts from the district office. That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Cut research-based, effective programs like AVID and READ 180 and cut counselors yet keep all of the assistant superintendents who have no effect on children.
How about removing all of the directors and demoting all of the assistant supts to be directors? That would cut about a million right there!
Mark