Office of the Superintendent
(415) 945-3720

LETTER TO STAFF, PARENTS & COMMUNITY (14-Feb-2003)

TO: Staff, Parents, and Community
FROM: BILL LEVINSON
DATE: February 14, 2003
SUBJECT: Budget Update – Request for Feedback

Background: At the February 11 board meeting, the Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees reviewed the status of the District budget in relation to the state’s current year/budget year decision-making process. At this time, the Governor has taken no action on the two linked bills before him, AB8X and AB4X (mid-year budget reductions and vehicle license fee increase), nor has the Governor or legislature begun formal deliberations on next year’s budget. As such, the Governor’s basic aid proposals for the 2003-2004 school year (eliminating the $120 per ADA basic aid allocation and recapturing 85% of the basic aid district property tax revenues beyond the revenue limit) remain in play. If implemented, they would reduce the District’s revenues by approximately $7,000,000, close to 20% of our operating budget. As a result, the District budget for next year would be in deficit by $6.633 million (property tax losses are offset by increases in revenue from the parcel tax and other resources).

Possible Expenditure Reductions: The Board reviewed an outline of possible budget cuts to offset the deficit. The reductions were based on the following assumptions:

1. The District loses both the $120 per ADA basic aid allocation and 85% of property tax dollars per student above the District’s revenue limit.
2. The District must protect core values, beliefs and program during the period of fiscal uncertainty. Thus, the approach to reductions is to maintain the framework of what exists rather than eliminating entire programs, i.e., seven period day, graduation requirements, commitment to honors, AP and fine arts, alternative education, District assessments, etc.
3. The District must maintain a safe environment for students and staff.
4. The District must provide a basic level of support for students and for staff.

Certificated Expenditures: Reductions were identified in: teaching positions (staffing at contract maximums and eliminating release periods), extra duty assignment allocations, summer school program, substitute teachers, administrative support and various other areas (some requiring negotiations with Tamalpais Teachers and Management Team).
…$2,002,000

Classified Expenditures: Reductions were identified in: support positions at schools and the District Office, overtime and sub costs and various other areas (some requiring negotiations with CSEA and Management Team).
… $850,000

Employee Benefits: Reductions were identified in health benefit expenditures (requires negotiations with all employee bargaining groups). All other expenditure areas are salary driven.
… $500,000

Supplies and Materials: Reductions were identified in: site and District instructional improvement funding, materials/equipment allocations and all existing school/District Office budgets.
… $305,000

Services: Reductions were identified in: Utilities (energy conservation), elections (take from reserves if needed), staff development (certificated, classified and administration), outside contracts (counseling), transportation, communications, athletic program, new teacher support, classified retraining and all existing District Office budgets.
… $707,000

Capital Outlay: Reductions were identified by limiting expenditures to replacement items and operational necessity purchases.
… $100,000

Inter Fund Transfers: Reductions were identified in: Food Service, Adult Education, and Deferred Maintenance.
… $150,000

Special Education: The special education budget presented to the Board prior to the decision to take back special education services from Marin County Office of Education showed a minimal increase in the special ed deficit as compared to the previous year. No reductions are proposed in special education services.

Total Identified Reductions: $4,564,000
Total Projected Deficit: ($6,663,000)
Additional Reductions to Balance ($2,099,000)

Administrative Recommendations: If the District loses $7,000,000 in basic aid revenues, the administration recommends the District to: 1) platform down expenditures and the impact on students by using some portion of the District’s General Fund Reserve to balance the 2003-2004 budget, 2) seek a renewal of the parcel tax next year, scheduled to expire on 6/30/05, with an increase sufficient to restore key components in our program lost due to budget reductions.

If the District loses our “fair share” of state revenues (reduction in state funds comparable to the reductions experienced by non-basic aid districts), about $1.1 million, the District will reduce expenditures as needed to balance the budget, maintain our program for students and provide support for staff.

And, in the eventuality that the District loses between the $1.1 million “fair share” and $7 million level, the District must be prepared to adjust expenditure reductions accordingly.

Next Steps: The reductions identified above require substantial review and consideration before the Board takes action. The Superintendent will review the identified reductions with staff and will return to the Board on February 25 with a more detailed description of the proposed reductions.

1. The District/Board will seek comment from staff, students, parents and community before taking action on expenditure reductions. click here for RESPONSE SHEET
2. The Board will review more detailed budget analysis and expenditure reduction recommendations at the February 25 and March 4 board meetings before taking action on certificated layoffs on March 11, and again, throughout April before taking action on classified layoffs on April 29.
3. The Board will review budget status and budget balancing proposals throughout the spring in order to hear from and respond to community concerns before taking budget actions.
4. The District will continue meeting with representatives of the certificated, classified and management team employee groups to review the impact of any budget decisions on staff and to seek support for budget actions requiring modifications to current contract language.
5. The Tam District community will be asked to do everything possible to impact the legislative process to eliminate this unwarranted attack on basic aid districts.

Key Budget Deadlines and Dates:

• March 4: Board to conduct budget workshop at 7:00pm.
• March 11: Board to authorize notification of certificated employees (teacher and administrators) of the possibility of their being laid off next year.
• April 29: Board to take action on classified layoffs
• May 13: Board to take action on certificated layoffs
• June 24: Board to approve 2003-2004 District budget.

Note: Once the State budget is approved, and the District knows what its revenues will be, the Board can take action to restore programs, expenditures, and positions.

REMINDER: PLEASE CONTACT ASSEMBLYMAN NATION, SENATOR BURTON, AND GOVERNOR DAVIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. LETTERS AND FAXES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN E-MAILS. See elsewhere on this website for other information on this issue.

MORE from the Superintendent’s Office on the fiscal crisis:

Budget info (14-Feb-2003)
>> Letter to staff, parents & community
- Parent/Student/Community Resident Response form
- Basic Aid Backgrounder: Letter from Bolinas-Stinson Union School District Trustee

MORE fiscal crisis info (29-Jan-2003)
- Letter to staff, parents & community
- Talking points
- Sample letter

ALL fiscal crisis info…

KEY CONTACTS IN SACRAMENTO
These are the telephone, fax and mailing addresses of key officials. Faxed or US-mailed LETTERS rather than emails are preferred.

Governor Gray Davis
c/o Michael Bustamante, Deputy Chief of Staff
State Capitol Bldg.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

Secretary for Education Kerry Mazzoni
Office of the Secretary for Education
1121 L Street, Suite 600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-323-0611
Fax: 916-323-3753

Senator John Burton
State Capitol Bldg., Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-1412
Fax: 916-445-4722

Assemblyman Joe Nation
State Capitol, Room 3013
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-319-2006
Fax: 916-319-2106

Email addresses (note that faxed or US-mailed letters are preferred):
Governor Davis: governor@governor.ca.gov
Joe Nation: joe.nation@asm.ca.gov
Senator Burton’s website: http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/burton/