News
Monday, April 28, 2008
San Marcos High School’s Vote on Staffing Parity Moves the Budget Process Forward
The Santa Barbara School Districts’ Board of Education adopted a $4,074,251 fiscal recovery plan on April 22, 2008, for the 2008-09 school year. The $4,074,251 cost reductions and revenue enhancements are needed to maintain the districts’ fiscal solvency, given the governor’s devastating budget proposal in January.
Not all cuts were finalized on April 22. Two cuts were in the balance as they were contingent on the outcome of San Marcos High School’s certificated staff vote on moving toward staffing parity with the districts’ other two comprehensive high schools.
The San Marcos High School staff vote was taken last week and the certificated staff is to be commended for reaching an agreement whereby a contract waiver on class size of 33:1 for 2008-09 will bring the staffing at San Marcos High closer to the staffing ratio at the other two comprehensive high schools (35:1). This vote will allow the districts to move ahead on reducing secondary district school psychologists by just two positions, instead of five, and pave the way for hiring certificated librarians, as opposed to media techs, for retiring certificated librarians.
The ten largest cost reductions and revenue enhancements for 2008-09, in descending order of savings, are:
| Ten Largest Cost Reductions and Revenue Enhancements, 2008-09 | Savings (descending $ order) |
| Reduce the number of instructional assistants, especially in special education (these are positions that have been vacant this year as we have not been able to find applicants) | $433,874 |
| Adjust workers compensation rate to reflect experience modification factor and to reflect rate decrease for fiscal year 2008-09 | $367,261 |
| Eliminate 2.85 administrative FTEs | $360,000 |
| Provide certificated retirement incentive | $345,744 |
| Charge restricted funds their proportional share of pay-as-you-go cost for retiree health benefits | $338,788 |
| Move toward staffing all comprehensive high schools at parity (San Marcos High School class size adjustment, 33:1) | $320,000 |
| Eliminate four site-based program specialists and replace with clerical positions | $298,530 |
| Eliminate ninth-grade class size reduction in math | $285,500 |
| Implement universal breakfast at elementary schools | $200,000 |
| Charge routine restricted maintenance account (RRMA) indirect costs | $175,000 |
The next budget report to the board will be presented at the May 28, 2008, board meeting.
We recognize that until the state’s economic situation is positive, state forecasts will not be optimistic and we must continue to exercise extreme caution in budget planning for the years ahead.