|
I join with school district administrators and other state agency
administrators in wondering what lies ahead for us in state funding.
We really won’t know anything until after the March 2 election. If
the state bond measure passes, we will probably be able to move forward
without resizing the districts. If the bond measure does not pass,
we will be looking toward at least two more really difficult years
and we will be looking at laying off employees. That is the last thing
we would want to do.
We will have a budget meeting March 3 after the bond election so we
can begin making plans, whichever way the vote goes. If the measure
fails, we will have to revise our budget. This is always a difficult
thing to do; changing course in mid stream is always harder than knowing
where you are going when you start.
The big issue that faces administrators is how to be more efficient
without compromising program quality. I would welcome any suggestions
people might have as to how we might reduce spending without harming
the quality of education.
The Yosemite Joint Union High School District is currently deficit
spending. This means we are spending money that is in our ending balance.
We were fortunate to have had a healthy ending balance when the state
budget problems started so we could maintain our programs even with
decreased funding from the state. We can do this for two more years
at the most, then, if the state’s financial climate doesn’t change,
we will have to make some very tough decisions.
It looks as if there will be some sweeping changes in education in
the coming months. The governor’s Commission on Education is looking
at combining a number of categorical programs into one block grant.
This would give local districts more control over how they spend their
funds. School boards would be making the decisions for their children
instead of bureaucrats in Sacramento.
Equity in funding is another huge issue. When there is over $1,000
per student per year difference in funding for districts that join
each other, something is wrong. I will be watching with great interest
as the commission tackles this issue.
Education is undergoing massive changes across the country. No Child
Left Behind has caused a tremendous amount of additional work for
districts everywhere. Some refer to NCLB as an unfunded mandate, meaning
the government is telling districts they have to do certain things
without providing the extra funds to pay for it. This is a heavy burden
on education that, combined with uncertain budgets, makes everyone
wonder how they are going to accomplish all that is demanded.
No matter what is required, no matter what the level of funding, we
all know what we must do: We must work as hard as we can to be sure
every child has an opportunity to reach his or her maximum potential.
That is why we chose to be educators.
School
News Home
|
