State, local leaders pursue legal fight over education cuts
By: Beth Winegarner
Examiner Staff Writer
December 16, 2008
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| Dennis Kelly, president of the San Francisco Unified School District teachers union, outlines a “wish list” of school programs and supplies leaders hope won’t be lost with threatened state budget cuts. (Beth Winegarner/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — State school leaders will sue California about threatened education cuts this year, and a similar lawsuit spearheaded by The City’s school superintendent may not be far behind.
Mid-year state budget cuts will likely blow a $20 million hole in the San Francisco Unified School District budget and slash another $10 million from City College of San Francisco.
The California School Boards Association voted a few weeks ago to sue the state for not providing enough money for public schools, according to San Francisco Board of Education Member Jill Wynns, who is also a member of the CSBA.
Next fall, the SFUSD could face another $20 million to $60 million in losses — which could mean the loss of 500 teachers and larger class sizes, according to Superintendent Carlos Garcia.
California is already ranked 46th nationwide in annual per-pupil spending — with an average of $7,081 — in March, before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s May budget revise further cut education funding statewide, according to Education Week.
Now, California per-pupil spending could drop by $1,200 if the state Legislature approves the governor’s latest budget proposal, according to the California Education Coalition, a group that includes school-related unions and the CSBA.
That could put the state’s education funding in 50th place nationwide.
“If that happens, it just adds fuel to the fire [for a lawsuit],” said Garcia, who also threatened to sue the state in March in order to force long-term funding improvements.
Garcia said he has been in discussions with education associations statewide about a potential lawsuit.
In the meantime, The City’s K-14 school officials are examining how they will make do with less money if cuts go through.
The SFUSD may be able to tap into some funds typically restricted for special-education and enrichment programs, or it may go to The City for $10 million from its “rainy day” fund, Garcia said.
“But that won’t be sufficient to solve our problems,” he said.
Although most full-time teachers are under contract through the end of the 2008-09 school year, bus drivers, custodians and teachers’ aides could be at risk, according to Dennis Kelly, head of the SFUSD teachers union.
“We cannot sacrifice our children because our Legislature can’t find its way through all of this,” said Kelly, who called the current budget situation “an absolute crisis."
CCSF leaders met Monday afternoon to review options for closing half of its likely $10 million shortfall, according to Ed Murray, vice president of the college’s teachers union. For now, the district is likely to pull money from reserves but is already scrutinizing under-enrolled classes and summer programs for ways to trim, he said.
“We don’t want to cut back — in an economic downturn, out-of-work residents turn to us for training for new jobs,” Murray said.
The City’s K-14 education crunch
$369 million
SFUSD’s total annual budget
$40 million
SFUSD’s 2008-09 cuts
$20 million
SFUSD potential mid-year cuts
$20 to $60 million
SFUSD potential 2009-10 cuts
$200 million
City College of San Francisco’s total annual budget
$10 million
CCSF’s potential mid-year cuts
Source: San Francisco Unified School District, City College of San Francisco
