School budget to take yet another hit

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the news out of Sacramento comes like a wet blanket, dripping all over the carefully – yet tenuously – balanced school budget. According to Superintendent Louann Carlomagno, the Sonoma Valley Unified School District had planned for fair share cuts of 5.81 percent, totaling some $1.7 million that would be eliminated from the budget for this school year and next. However, legislative meetings earlier this month brought the grim news that cuts would instead amount to more like 8.9 percent to basic aid districts.

“We budgeted the $1.7 million thinking we were more than on top of the situation,” said Carlomagno. “To now learn that the cuts will be closer to $2.9 million is not only very frustrating but it was also completely unforeseen.”

The difference means slashing the school budget another $800,000 over the course of the next two years. According to Carlomagno, there’s no way to tell exactly how bad the cuts will be until the government takes action. Three issues are at stake: whether or not a tax extension is granted; what transpires after the June election; and more detailed information that will come following the governor’s signature on the state budget.

“Nothing is official or voted on yet so we’re all in the dark. We’ll just have to wait and see before we move forward,” she said.

Carlomagno was quick to point out one positive in that the entire district has done an excellent job of cutting back in order to keep as many resources in reserve as possible. She said the district should know more in the next couple of weeks.