FW: New Haven Unified School District News Release: More Budget Cuts
offset some of the budget cuts, schools will need to be more creative in
asking for help from parents to help provide teachers the support they need
to help teach their kids.
Sunil Sethi
www.sunilsethi.com
-----Original Message-----
MORE CUTS REQUIRED BECAUSE OF STATE BUDGET MESS
UNION CITY (Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009) * The Board of Education of the
New Haven Unified School District, forced to deal with the local impact
of California*s financial crisis, will be asked Tuesday night to
accept a recommendation for $5.9 million in reductions in the proposed
budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11 * on top of $4 million in cuts and
internal borrowing for the current budget recommended earlier this
month, and on top of $7 million in cuts made last year.
*When you consider the compound effect that the reductions we*re
recommending now will have in future years, the cumulative impact of
these cuts will be $17.6 million,* Superintendent Kari McVeigh said,
*and that*s not including the $7 million from last year.*
As school districts throughout the state wait for Governor
Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to act on a budget proposal that
includes another huge cut to public education, New Haven must adjust its
budget to account for the loss of promised revenue now being withheld by
Sacramento: $4 million in the current school year, $1.7 million in
2009-10 and $2.2 million in 2010-11.
*We*ve tried to formulate our recommendations to take into account
the feedback we*ve received from parents, staff and students -- from
site leadership, in School Site Council meetings and through the New
Haven Community Forum,* Superintendent McVeigh said.
*The cuts that they*ve told us they least want to see *
class-size reduction (staffing at a student-to-teacher ratio of 20-to-1
in kindergarten through third grade and in ninth grade), transportation
and co-curricular activities * as well as possibly closing an
elementary school, we*ve delayed as long as possible, to 2010-11, to
give us time to try to find funding alternatives.*
Still, the Board will be asked to consider issuing layoff notices,
including *precautionary layoff notices,* Ms. McVeigh said, *for
teachers who might be affected if the state budget mess gets even worse
and we are forced to eliminate class-size reduction in the fall, instead
of in 2010-11.*
The Board will be asked to consider sufficient reductions to cover $1.5
million in internal borrowing necessary to balance the 2008-09 budget
and an additional $4.4 million previously budgeted for 2009-10 and
2010-11. Those reductions include $290,000 from cuts carrying forward
from current budget, plus:
In 2009-10:
* Eliminating *Staff Development Days,* three days at the start
of the school year when teachers are paid if they choose to take
additional training
* Staffing middle school and high school classes at a ratio of 30:1
instead of 29:1
* Reducing classified positions, pending consultation with the local
leadership of the California School Employees Association.
* Eliminating eight counseling positions
* Reducing reliance on outside agencies for some Special Education
services
* Reducing administrative staffing by three more positions (Director
of K-8 Leadership, Data Analyst and Administrative Assistant) and
replacing a technology manager with a technician
In 2010-11:
* Eliminating K-3 class-size reduction
* Eliminating 9th grade class-size reduction
* Eliminating co-curricular activities and activity/athletic
directors
* Eliminating K-8 home-to-school transportation
* Eliminating the District*s share of funding for Union City Police
officers assigned to James Logan and Conley-Caraballo high schools
* Closing one elementary school
* Eliminating Opportunity School, an alternative program for middle
school students
The Board meeting Tuesday starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Educational
Services Center, 34200 Alvarado-Niles Road.
Rick La Plante
Public Information Officer
New Haven Unified School District
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