CUCPTSA Legislation Briefs – January 2008
LOCAL CUSD BOARD MEETING – MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2008 Superintendent Carter shared that in house legal counsel candidates are currently being interviewed and that he hopes a selection can be made within the month
Discussion/Action items: # 23: Sunset board policy 4317.1 on early retirement incentives: Supt. Carter recommended that this become effective August 1, 2008. Approved 6-0 # 24 and # 25: First readings on board policy revisions to Open Enrollment & Student use of technology respectively. 1st readings – no action required. # 26: School site capacity analysis/new board policy. 1st reading – no action required. # 27 - Attendance Boundaries: Supt is recommending Option A for Newhart MS and Option B for VDM. Next up: Jan 23 – public hearing; Feb 11 – final board decision Information only – no action taken #28: Fiscal audit. Approved 6-0 #29: Governor’s preliminary budget: Governor is proposing very substantial cuts to education in his 08-09 budget. There are no specifics yet but it could be around $20 million for CUSD. Information only – no action taken SPECIAL MEETING/BUDGET WORKSHOP -- TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2008 Recap of Governor’s 2008-09 Budget Proposal for Education: Proposition 98 is over-appropriated by $1.4 billion due to lower state revenues Governor’s proposals are to defer June apportionment to September and impose current year reductions of $400 million Governor declared a fiscal emergency, under Prop 58 legislature has 45 days to act, legislation is required to reduce or delay funding Suspend Prop 98
Change COLA Computation Reduce Prop 98 funding by $4.8 billion $2.6 billon revenue limit loss=6.99% deficit=loss of $139 per ADA from 2007/08 Categorical funding loss=NO COLA + 6.5% rollback Special Education funding reduction of $30 per ADA Review of 2007/08 Budget Reductions: Revenue Enhancements = $397,000 Expenditure Reductions = $10,793,000 Expenditure Shifts and Cost Avoidance = $1,810,000 Total Budget Savings = $13,000,000 Factors Impacting CUSD Budget: Enrollment Growth has flattened out Deficit Spending in 4 out of the past 5 years Impact on CUSD projected 2008/09 Budget: Revenue Limit Reduction= ($20,938,386) Categorical Funding Reduction=($7,839,681) Budget Reductions Required=28 Million Potential 2008/09 Budget Reductions: District wide, employee related, and departmental reductions Educational program reductions-Superintendent would like to keep the reductions away from the classrooms, if possible 2008/09 Budget Development Timeline: February 11, 2008-Presentation of Budget Revision February 25, 2008-Budget Workshop to review reduction proposals and decrement list March 10, 2008-Presentation of 2nd Interim Report with Budget revisions and Certificated Layoff Notices March-May 2008-Incorporate Budget Revision Changes June 9, 2008-Tentative 2008/09 Budget June 30, 2008-Final 2008/09 Budget Approval and Public Hearing Actions already taken: District wide spending freeze on all non-essential purchases Hiring freeze-decisions to be made on a case by case basis by the Superintendent
STATE Governor’s Budget for 2008/09 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his State Budget for 2008/09 on Thursday, January 10, 2008. He proposes a $101 billion spending plan with 10% “across the board cuts” to all state departments, including Education, in order to close a $14.5 billion projected revenue shortfall. The governor is resistant to tax
increases, insisting that not enough support exists among legislators and voters. He has also declared a “fiscal emergency”, calling the Legislature into a 45-day special session in order to take immediate action and produce legislation to respond to the state’s budget deficit. The cuts to the Education Budget would include: $400 million in mid-year cuts primarily in the areas of transportation, special education, child nutrition and programs to reduce class sizes. However, it is expected that these cuts will focus on administration rather than cuts in the classroom. Per student funding would drop $300 per student from $11,935 this year to $11,626 in the 2008/09 fiscal year. This would be the first time in years that the state has actually reduced the amount of money spent per student. Special Education reductions of $357.9 million. $60 million in cuts to Before and After School Programs.
In contrast with cuts to schools, the Education Budget does include funding ($8.1 million) for the development of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CalPADS) which will enable tracking of individual student enrollment history and academic performance data over time. The budget also includes $1.8 million in one-time Federal Title II funds for the State Department of Education and $400,000 for developing the California Longitudinal Teacher Integrated Data Education System (CalTIDES) which is to be a central repository for information regarding the teacher workforce. Education Leaders are not willing to suspend Proposition 98 and are already meeting to discuss courses of action. They stated that schools have been cutting budgets for the last several years and cannot face a year when actual monies per pupil are proposed to decrease by at least $300 per student. “PTA urges legislators not to cut Proposition 98, the minimum public education funding guarantee for our students. The impact of the unprecedented cuts proposed in the Governor’s budget would severely harm each and every school”. Visit www.capta.org for more information.
California Primary Remember to vote! Tuesday, February 5 is the date for the California Presidential Primary, marking the first time the California primary has not been held in June. There are seven measures on the ballot for consideration by voters. They are as follows:
Proposition 91. Transportation Funds -- State of California (Initiative Constitutional Amendment - Majority Approval Required) Proposition 92. Community Colleges. Funding. Governance. Fees -- State of California (Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute - Majority Approval Required) Proposition 93. Limits on Legislators' Terms in Office -- State of California (Initiative Constitutional Amendment - Majority Approval Required) Proposition 94. Amendment to Indian Gaming Compact -- State of California (Referendum - Majority Approval Required) Proposition 95. Amendment to Indian Gaming Compact -- State of California (Referendum - Majority Approval Required) Proposition 96. Amendment to Indian Gaming Compact -- State of California (Referendum - Majority Approval Required) Proposition 97. Amendment to Indian Gaming Compact -- State of California (Referendum - Majority Approval Required) For more information, visit the following websites: www.ocvote.com -- Orange County Registrar of Voters www.smartvoter.org -- California League of Women Voters website for nonpartisan election information. www.easyvoter.org -- Easy Voter Guide Project presenting a non-partisan overview of elections. FEDERAL Education Funding On December 26, 2007 President Bush signed into law a bill that will increase Federal education spending by 2.9% in fiscal 2008. The measure will provide an increase of $13.9 billion to Title I program for disadvantaged students. This is an increase of 8.6% from the 2007 budget. Other appropriations for K to 12 education includes: $10.9 billion in state grants under IDEA, a 1% increase over 2007 $2.93 billion state teacher- quality grants, a 1.7% increase from 2007 $1.2 billion aid for career and vocational education programs, a reduction of.5%
NCLB Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, a research and advocacy organization in Washington DC expects a slowdown and extension on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. Not much is going to get done this year. (Edweek Jan 2, 2008)