The Arcadia School Board is expected to approve sending out layoff notices to 60-70 certified teachers and staff at the next board meeting on Feb. 22. In a recent 14 1/2-minute video address to staff describing how the budget will impact them, AUSD superintendent Dr. Joel Shawn described the 60-70 notices a “horrific number,” and said the district hopes that only 20-25 of those who will actually be laid off. Unfortunately, the district is required by teacher unions to send layoff notifications by March 15, more than three months before the state budget is approved in late June, which has a huge impact on what funding the district will have to work with. Therefore, Shawn said the district has to prepare for worst-case scenario. “We have to treat the Governor’s proposal as if it will fail at the end of June, and hope it passes so we don’t have to make these cuts,” he said, noting there could be even deeper cuts required if the Governor’s budget fails.
Shawn noted that with 85% of the district budget going to salaries, it is inevitable that any cuts will affect staff. And cuts are necessary, with projections showing a whopping $18 million deficit by 2014-15 if the district takes no action. The district has been in budget-cutting mode since 2007-08, which has resulted in about 20% loss in revenue. And while there is a perception among some in the community that schools are overcrowded, student enrollment has been declining by 100 students per year for the last five years, compounding the budget problem since the district receives funds based on the number of students. (Further details about declining student enrollment here.) Last year class sizes for Second and Third grades were raised from 20 students for every teacherto to 22:1, with the Arcadia Education Foundation raising enough money to delay increasing First Grade class sizes to the same level. The current plan for next year is to raise Grades 1-3 class sizes to 24:1. That (coupled with declining enrollment), means the district will need 11 fewer elementary school teachers in 2011-12, Shawn said. Four teachers will be retiring, so seven will receive layoff notices.
Among the other proposals in the district’s worst-case scenario budget, Shawn is asking for staff to agree to take eight furlough days for three years starting in 2012-13.
Shawn noted that while the district has had significant cuts to the budget, programs, and staff during the last four years, the district might have suffered deeper layoffs, salary cuts, and furlough days like many neighboring school districts if not for the conservative budgeting practices of the district and the utilization of resources and other one-time money.
Explaining that the budget issues are more complex now than three years ago, Shawn said he was concerned that staff might think that if the public votes for an extension to the temporary sales tax and vehicle license fee that could be put to a statewide vote in the coming months, that schools will not have to make any additional budget cuts. “Unfortunately, this is just not the case,” Joel said.
The district is not just calculating what expenses to cut, but also exploring ways to raise more cash on their own. One possibility being explored is asking Arcadia taxpayers to approve a parcel tax.
— By Scott Hettrick