The Cupertino Courier

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Educators rally to curb state budget cuts

By Crystal Lu

Local school district officials are lobbying California legislators, trying to stave off proposed state funding cuts that could cost their districts millions of dollars.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal for 2008-09 calls for a $4.4 billion cut in K-12 state funding.

"This is the worse budget proposal I've seen in 21 years, since I've been in California," said Ben Picard, deputy superintendent of the Sunnyvale School District.

The proposal would mean a loss of $1.8 million in general funding and categorical funding to the district, according to Picard. "That's $305 less per student," he said.

"I'm going to focus all my energy on working with legislators to improve the budget for public education," said Phil Quon, superintendent of the Cupertino Union School District.

The governor's proposal, if approved, would take away $3 million in the district's general fund and $2.5 million in categorical funding in the next school year, according to Rick Housman, chief business officer.

Housman also said a mid-year cut of $400 million in the governor's proposal could cause the CUSD to lose $500,000.

"The budget crisis will make it more difficult to increase teacher salaries," said Housman, referring to the current impasse between the district and teachers over salary negotiations.

"Our greatest concern is the cut in the categorical funding, which supports our

special programs," said Polly Bove, superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District.

The special programs include special education, English as a Second language, class size reduction for ninth-graders in English and math, aid to economically disadvantaged students, visual and performing arts, music, counseling and credentialing for new teachers.

There will be an impact on special programs in the Cupertino and Sunnyvale school districts as well.

Picard said there would be an especially severe impact on the district's special education programs, which are already under-funded by $5 million and now may face a $30-per-student reduction.

"We've been resource-starved," he said. "This budget is a large issue. It's a concern not only for California but for the whole nation because 13 percent of American children attend California public schools."

"The whole array of our special programs is at risk," said Geoffrey Kiehl, FUHSD chief business officer. "But we don't know how they are at risk yet. It depends on the final budget."

"This is just an initial proposal," said Bove. "It's premature for us to make decisions."

Even in the worse-case scenario, Bove added, the high school district's general funding will not be affected because it comes from local property tax.