Tough cuts await schools; PUSD mulls budget woes

POMONA - They started with 28 programs and narrowed those down to 16, then 13, and finally 10.

That's how members of Pomona Unified School District's Superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee went though the painful process of determining the district's most critical programs and which ones to try to save when decisions about cuts come later this school year.

The priorities will be reviewed by school district administrators along with information such as state and federal requirements they must meet, results of labor negotiations, the response to an early retirement program for certificated personnel and other data to determine what can and can't be reduced or eliminated, said Superintendent Richard Martinez following Monday's committee meeting.

Once that's compiled, it will be presented to the school board, which will have to decide what cuts to make, he said.

Such information could be ready within 60 days but "I hope it will be quicker than that," Martinez said.

In the meantime, Martinez will be updating the school board and informing them as to what the committee came up with, which "is a step to taking a look at programs," Martinez said.

Monday's meeting was the fourth of the advisory group, which is made up parents, students, principals, district labor organizations, administrators and community members.

The group received information on the district and the state's financial pictures in previous meetings.

Last month, the group received a list of 28 programs that could be affected as the district attempts to prepare a balanced budget for the 2010-2011 school year that is $36 million smaller than the current budget.

Of that figure, $23 million are reductions in state funds and the remaining $13 million is one-time federal assistance received this year.

The broad range of programs include administrator training, adult education, assistance for students who are parents, and assistance for students who need intensive preparation to pass the high school exit exam.

Such programs are paid for with state money that has generally been limited for such purposes. However, in the current fiscal crisis affecting California and its educational system, Sacramento has loosened some of the restrictions on the use of those dollars, district administrators said recently.

Other programs on the priority list included kindergarten to third grade class-size reductions, high school and middle school sports, health and nursing services and visual and performing arts.

These are programs that are paid for out of the district's general fund, but which could also be threatened.

The different groups within the committee sought input before getting to work Monday on setting priorities.

Parent Maria Garcia is active at Alcott Elementary, Simons Middle School and Garey High and is president of the district's Bilingual Advisory Committee.

She had organized informal meetings with other parents seeking their input on the programs.

Parents were concerned about programs such as nursing and health services and the assistance for students preparing to take the high school exit exam, Garcia said.

Parents, she said, want their children to be as well-prepared as possible when they leave high school. Passing the exit exam is part of that preparation.

Other parents are concerned sports and music could be lost, Garcia said.

Some students stay in school because sports and music are their motivation but others see them as a way to earn a scholarship that can help pay for college, she said.

"In reality that's the only opportunity for some families," Garcia said in Spanish.

In other cases, such activities serve to keep students off the street and in a positive environment, she said. Garey High student Victor Franco encountered difficulties getting a school meeting organized but it didn't stop him from gathering the opinions of students and others.

He spoke to students and knocked on doors around his neighborhood.

The people he spoke with want programs like adult education, occupational programs, preparation for the high school exit exam, class-size reduction at the ninth-grade level, summer school and the visual and performing arts, Franco said.

Some students may not always be interested in academics, but because they must maintain their grades at a certain level to participate in performing arts or sports programs, they strive to do well in their school work, he said.

During the meeting, Franco expressed concerns there wasn't someone on the committee specifically representing adult education.

The program is a valuable one, and his family is an example, he said.

Franco said his mother was 16 when she became pregnant with him. It was through the adult education program that she earned a GED and later trained to become a certified nursing assistant.

She is now a licensed vocational nurse preparing to become a registered nurse, he said.

"Adult (education) gives people a second opportunity," Franco said.

Like others on the committee, Franco said he would have wanted more time, more information and more involvement from those who run the programs.

Representatives of Associated Pomona Teachers, or APT, and the California School Employees Association refrained from prioritizing programs Monday.

Tyra Weis, president of APT, said the organization could not participate in such a process "when so many of the individuals who will be impacted are not here."

She added, "we do not want our participation to be perceived by others as binding."

Also, in the past, when the state and district had money to spend, district leadership did not seek the opinion of organizations such as APT on how to spend it, Weis said.

Martinez said when financial times improve, advice will be needed as to how to use any extra money that comes to the district.

Although no other meetings were scheduled for the committee Monday, Martinez said this may not be the end of the committee's work.

"In the immediate future I may call on you," he said.

Not only may he need their opinions but he may need their creativity to help develop revenue-generating ideas that can help the district, Martinez said.