Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/50712
ACTION THE DREADED MOMENT that California schools had been anticipating finally arrived in mid-December when the Department of Finance and Gov. Jerry Brown announced that state revenue was $2.2 billion lower than projected in the 2011-12 State Budget Act, and the trigger would be pulled on cuts to public education and other essential services. While K-12 schools were spared the bil- lions in cuts they were expecting, home-to- school transportation was cut $248 million, which could spell disaster for the poor and neediest students who depend on school transportation to get to and from school. Proposition 98 was also cut nearly $80 mil- Lower state revenues trigger cuts to schools and colleges lion, the equivalent of a half day cut from the school year. "Educators across California have dreaded this day for months, and for good reason. We know firsthand the damage that new cuts to K-12 and higher education will cause. We were at a crossroads long ago aſter so many classroom cuts. Now we're standing on the brink of a slow-moving disaster," said CTA President Dean Vogel. "Cutting up to $248 million in home-to- school transportation will force our young, poor and neediest students into danger if they can no longer ride a bus to school and have to walk unsafe roads or through dan- gerous conditions to get to class," Vogel said. Districts will have to determine how Two tiers of cuts The state budget implemented two levels of additional cuts that would be triggered by falling revenues. The projected shortfall is large enough to trigger the following cuts, according to the California Department of Finance. TIER 1 CUTS $23 million in cuts to child care. $ 30 million in additional cuts to community colleges that will force a fee increase of $10. $ 100 million in additional cuts to the University of California. $ 100 million in additional cuts to the California State University system. $ 100 million in cuts to develop- mental services. $ 100 million in cuts to in-home support services. $ 72 million in cuts to youthful offenders programs. TIER 2 CUTS $ 79.6 million in additional cuts to K-12 districts in the form of a reduction in revenue limits, equaling $13 per student in Aver- age Daily Attendance (ADA) or a half day cut from the school year. $ 248 million to home-to-school transportation services at a cost of $41 per student (ADA). $ 72 million in additional cuts to community colleges. 32 California Educator / December 2011 • January 2012 best to deal with the midyear cuts as they try to keep them as far away from stu- dents as possible. These new reductions will hurt schools already reeling from more than billions in cuts over the past three years. The cuts have ballooned class sizes and eliminated art and music classes, limited other instructional opportunities, and forced more than 40,000 layoffs of certificated educators — including nurses, counselors, and librarians — and educa- tion support professionals. It is not expected that any districts will have to implement a shorter school year. But thanks to legislation spear- headed by CTA, chapters and districts will be able to negotiate over the major method of adapting to the reduced state financial support — whether to cut up to seven days from the 2011-12 school year. At the same time, CTA is pushing legislation that will ensure that educators, education support professionals, and other school workers will receive full-year credit with their retirement systems for pension purposes, even if the school year is shortened. California community colleges were cut $30 million, which means a $10 fee increase for students. The University of California and California State University systems were each hit with another $100 million cut, while child care, health care and other crucial services were also cut. All of these cuts point out the need for additional revenue for our schools and other essential services. CTA's policy-making body, the State Council of Education, has autho- rized working toward putting on the Novem- ber 2012 ballot an initiative that would promote tax fairness and provide up to $10 billion to restore cut programs and positions (see story on page 30). FIRST AND SECOND TIER CUTS EXPECTED Instead of cutting school funding last June, lawmakers and the governor put into the 2011-12 state budget triggers that would be Governor and others aim to boost school funding At this writing, at least three other entities are working on initiatives aimed to increase state revenues and boost funding for public education. Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed an initiative that would raise $6.5 billion annually. It would provide Pre-K–14 with $3.5 billion and free up another $3 billion for higher education and other services. The Think Long Group, funded by billionaire investors, is seeking to raise $10 billion by revising the state tax code. The group is proposing to use some of the revenues for education, but only in exchange for implementing specific "education reforms," including those proposed by Eli Broad, one of the investors. It also seeks to wipe out the billions already owed to Proposition 98 and to abolish the maintenance fac- tor that is guaranteed to be repaid to schools.