At a special meeting April 21, the Board of Education took action on the final pieces of the $3.7 million budget reductions effective July 1, 2009. Instead of eliminating class size reduction entirely for kindergarten, which would have meant 30 students per class, the board voted to increase class size from 20 students to 26, with an estimated savings of $160,000 per year. In addition, four district office executive secretary positions were eliminated, and will be replaced with staff secretaries, saving $30,000; and one district office middle management position was eliminated and will be replaced with a staff position, saving $40,000. A reduction of $460,000 came out of special education by tightening student/teacher ratios and transferring oversight of the special education summer program to the Director of Special Education. The total amount of reductions approved April 21 was $690,000.
Adding these recent reductions to the cuts that have already been approved brings the total budget reductions to $3.697 million dollars for 2008-09. Other program and service reductions previously approved include $500,000 from the ending balance due to a 20 percent mid-year freeze of non-personnel expenditures; $650,000 from a restricted reserve for future textbook purchases; $500,000 from routine repair and maintenance; $400,000 from temporary use of Redevelopment Agency revenue; $400,000 from closing Burnett Elementary and moving students to P.A. Walsh; $100,000 by eliminating two custodial positions; $150,000 by staffing secondary schools' clerical support to the contractual student/clerical ratio; $80,000 by eliminating four elementary library clerk positions; $220,000 of district office reductions, including eliminating the grant writer/communication/community relations position, reducing technology support to sites, transferring direct oversight of construction duties to the deputy superintendent saving one administrative salary, and several other minor cuts; and lastly a $7,000 savings to walk-on coach stipends by paying the lowest range on the salary schedule as defined by the teachers' union contract. All three of our employee groups are considering or have already agreed to take at least one furlough day. If all three groups take one day, the savings to the budget would be $260,000. I am grateful to our employees for this consideration.
Unfortunately, based on the state's current projection of an $8 billion shortfall for next year, the district will be looking for additional reductions for the following school year. If the propositions on the May ballot do not pass, the state is projecting a $14 billion shortfall. It is difficult to imagine where that will take us. We are not alone. Every school district in the country, every city, county and state agency, and every business, small and large, are all feeling the impact of the economic downturn. Over an 18-month period, our school district will have cut just under $9 million. Some have asked how did this happen? In a nutshell, the bulk of our funding comes directly from the state. When the state adopted its budget in October for 2008-09, all school districts were funded at 93 cents for each dollar of funding that they were due, which translated into a $3 million deficit for Morgan Hill Unified. One month after the state budget was adopted, the funding level dropped to 90 cents for each dollar of funding - increasing our district's deficit mid-year another $2.6 million, for a total of $5.6 for the current school year. With the current shortfall projected at $8 billion, the district was forced to add another $3.7 million revenue deficit for next year, bringing us to over $9 million total deficit for 18 months. Our economic crisis is a direct result of the state economic crisis.
America has always demonstrated resiliency in challenging times and this crisis is no exception. We will get through these tough times. Everyone in the district is impacted in one way or another, either by loss of a job, an involuntary move, or increased work load due to fewer people doing the work. Unfortunately, the work of running a school and serving students and the community does not diminish. The reductions to classified services, alone, will cause a "bumping" process of employees resulting in changes of personnel at most of our school sites as well as the district office. We know that these reductions are affecting the lives and livelihood of longtime, dedicated employees, as well as new staff. If we could avoid impacting employees, we would - but it is not possible to cut $9 million out of a budget without impacting people's jobs, when 87 percent of our budget is personnel.
I know that what we are going through as a community and a country is not easy, but I am confident that together we will continue to serve the needs of students and open doors for them to their future. Every student deserves the very best that we can offer, and I am looking forward to our graduation ceremonies the first week of June when we will see the fruits of our labors and send another class of students out into the world.
Alan Nishino Alan Nishino has been serving as superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District since July of 2005. He served as superintendent of the Alameda School District for five years. Reach him at alan.nishino@mhu.k12.ca.us.
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