Recently in BUDGET CRISIS 2008 Category

Of the 325,000 school jobs across the country White House officials said were saved by federal stimulus funds, 18,878 positions were either retained or created in California. About 15 percent of those positions were classified, non-teaching staff, 84 percent were certificated positions and one percent were vendors. All said, California received more than $4 billion for education.

Torrance Unified officials on Tuesday is inviting parents and community members to a budget workshop at South High School, 4801 Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be an opportunity for the community to understand the effects of the California fiscal crisis on the district.

State lawmakers recently agreed on a spending plan that cuts $4.6 million from the district this school year.

Los Angeles Unified announced this morning that the school district will not be cutting teaching positions midyear, a drastic and unpopular move that had been discussed earlier this month in response to state budget cuts.

"Due to the lack of clear information from Sacramento, the need for stability at schools in the second semester, and the high level of interest in a retirement incentive program, there will be no mid-year teacher layoffs," Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a statement.

The statement said that more than 2,000 certificated employees are interested in early retirement, which would help the district financially.

The Board of Education voted last week 4-2 (with Harbor Area/South Bay rep Richard Vladovic dissenting) to approve firing up to 2,600 nonpermanent teachers and 2,000 substitute teachers -- most of them in elementary schools.*

At the time, Cortines said he was seeking alternatives to the cuts, which would have been based on seniority.

The district has already cut more than $400 million from its budget this year, and is looking to cut another $400 million now, depending on what happens in Sacramento.

United Teachers Los Angeles had vowed to fight the layoffs, and the union has planned a march in downtown L.A. next week to protest state and local budget cuts.

*Numbers from UTLA

The California State University system announced today that it will put off sending bills to students whose state-backed scholarship funding is delayed due to the budget crisis in Sacramento.

The state has told California universities and colleges that there may be a delay in sending out Cal Grants in the coming spring semester, CSU said in a press release today.

CSU will not seek payment for the State University Fee ($3,048 for the 2008-09 school year) until the Cal Grants are released.

One variety of state funding to students -- called Cal Grant B's -- provide a stipend to students. Cal State will seek to provide " short-term emergency loans to needy students on a case-by-case basis," the release said.

CSU is not in a position to automatically cover these cash stipends to students until the (California Student Aid Commission) actually distributes the funds.

About 65,500 CSU students -- about 14.5 percent of the student population at the 23-campus system-- get Cal Grant funds, the release stated.

California State University, Dominguez Hills officials mistakenly told us yesterday that the salary freezes of its top administrators will only affect President Mildred Garcia and four campus vice presidents through the 2009-10 school year.

Spokeswoman Amy Bentley-Smith corrected herself and said the CSU system's budget reductions will lock in Garcia's $295,000 annual salary and FIVE vice presidents who earn $140,000 to $190,000 each year.

Los Angeles Unified expects to lose $833 million in state matching funds for construction and modernization projects, following a Wednesday decision by a state panel to halt infrastructure financing, a district spokeswoman said today.

Thirty-five new schools in various stages of construction, as well as hundreds of upgrades for existing campuses, would take a hit, said LAUSD's Shannon Haber.

"The list is enormous," Haber said.

The district is still figuring out the effects of the plans. More detail on the effected projects should be forthcoming from the district, she added.

The Pooled Money Investment Board in Sacramento voted Wednesday to halt nearly $4 billion in funding for infrastructure projects across the state, affecting many school districts.

The Torrance Unified board on Monday formally accepted the Nov. 4 results of measures Y and Z which will be used to update aging campuses and athletic facilities.

The board is also looking for applicants for a citizens committee to oversee how the dollars from the bonds will be spent. Applications are available at the district's website at www.tusd.org and will be accepted through Jan. 26. Committee members will be appointed on Feb. 2. Information: 310-972-6152.

I wrote a story today about Centinela Valley Union High School District board on Monday voting to make Jose Fernandez its longterm superintendent.

Some on the board said they decided to keep the money-minded leader on the job for consistency as the cash-strapped district regains its financial footing.

But several teachers at the meeting that I spoke with were unhappy that the supe search wasn't more thorough and a few others hinted that Fernandez doesn't have enough of an educator background to lead.

What do you think? Please be civil and stick to the point here.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that California is nearly $15 billion in the red and the money crunch needs to be dealt with by state lawmakers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

An administration official said the state could be staring at a deficit as great as $40 billion by June 2010. Schools serving pre-kindergarten to public universities are facing mid-year budget cuts because of the state's financial meltdown.

Schwarzenegger said he's frustrated by the Legislature's inability to find a compromise solution, and he singled out the Republicans for being "very vague and never specific" about what they want in negotiating the budget.

Republicans have been standing firm on their promise not to support new taxes, while Democrats have argued that spending cuts and taxes should be considered. Although Democrats hold a large majority in the Assembly and the Senate, they need Republican support to reach the required two-thirds majority to approve taxes and pass a budget.

"Every second, the state is losing $470, every minute $28,000, and every hour $1.7 million and every day $40 million," Schwarzenegger said. "That is approximately more than $1 billion a month if legislators don't act."

I'd like to get some feedback from School Notebook readers about my story today on El Camino College President and Superintendent Thomas Fallo interviewing for a job at a college in northern San Diego County.

Some have criticized the possible move as a way for Fallo to leverage a pay raise although the college board insist that's not the case.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office reports Fallo had a base salary of $268,840 last year. The average salary of a single-college CEO is just over $193,000, according to the Chancellor's Office.

So what I want to know from all of you is: should the board try to keep him or should they let him go?

When things get busy here (as they do during holiday weeks), we kind of slack off on blog posts. You might have noticed. Sorry.

Anyway, here are a few links I've been meaning to post from recent days:

• Los Angeles Unified is considering cuts of up to $140 million this year, the Daily News' George Sanchez reports. Deputy Supe Cortines would halve the budgets of local districts, and cut Beaudry's budget by 30 percent. "It's just that bad," Cortines said
• The Los Angeles Times' Jason Song looks back on Friday's lockdown at Manual Arts High School in South L.A.
• The Associated Press reports that the federal goverment will withhold $1 million from California for failing to test eighth-graders in math. This is related to the whole eight-grade algebra conundrum.
• Another LA Times story: County juvie camps may become charter schools.
• From Friday, the Daily News' Sanchez reports on continuing payroll snafus within LAUSD.
• And ... UC students on Sunday protested proposed budget cuts, reports, yes, the LA Times.

State high school students visiting the California State University Chancellor's Office YouTube channel will see new videos with a simple message: hurry up and apply if you want to attend a CSU.

The CSU system is asking students, high schools, education groups, news outlets, churches and communities to link and post these YouTube videos on their own websites.

Less than two weeks remain for the fall 2009 priority deadline of Nov. 30, 2008. At least nine CSU campuses will close their application periods for first-time freshmen on that day. Many campuses will follow soon after.

Find more information and apply online at www.csumentor.edu.

ABout 1,000 university students on Sunday held a demonstration at UCLA's Bruin Plaza to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts to higher education, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The demostration comes a week after UC officials considered plans to limit freshman unless the state provides more funding, while the California State University system agreed to cut enrollment by 10,000.

The governor's proposed cuts, they said, would result in higher tuition, lower enrollment, larger class sizes and fewer student services.

"Students are being shortchanged," David Kirui, 21, a fourth-year undergraduate from UC Berkeley, told the crowd in Bruin Plaza. "We are sick and tired of the budget being balanced on the backs of students."

Schwarzenegger recently recommended a $65-million cut from the $3 billion in state money the UC system expected for the 2008-09 school year.

The California State University system will push up application deadlines and raise its academic bar as a way to cap enrollment for the 2009-2010 academic year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The state's high school graduates probably will bear the brunt of the downsizing, which will lower the school system's 450,000 population by 10,000. The move comes as the nation's largest four-year college system anticipates $66 million in midyear budget cuts, and further reductions for 2009-2010.

Cal State is not the only higher education institution reporting financially driven enrollment issues. The University of California said it might have to limit admission to its most popular campuses and send more students to those with extra space, typically Riverside and Merced. At the state's community colleges, actual enrollment probably won't be limited but students' access to classes may be, officials said.

The California Teachers Association on Monday launched a 60-second radio ad that makes the same "our future economy depends on educating our children" argument made in an L.A. Times op-ed published yesterday.

The ad notes that California ranks 46th nationwide in per-pupil funding. It doesn't specifically mention Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to cut $2 billion from state K-12 education funds.

Here's CTA's release.

By the way, it's American Education Week.

A few budget shortfall links from today's papers and over the weekend:

Starting with this lede from an editorial in the Sunday Los Angeles Times:

For California's schools, the question of the state budget shortfall comes down to this: Will they have an utterly unthinkable year, or just a horrible year?

The editorial calls for a moratorium on No Child Left Behind sanctions, which cost school districts money, as well as a lifting of the class-size limit from 20 (for K-third grade classes) tp 24 or 25. The ed board also recommends the state free up categorical funding, which usually goes only to specific programs.

The ed board also on Sunday looked at the irony of Measure Q's forthcoming riches -- $7 billion limited largely to construction and physical improvements -- in a year of budget crisis that may even force school closures. The editorial calls for the district to "use money more judiciously" and "focus on its core mission at a time when it may not be able to afford much else."

In an op-ed oday, UCLA professor Saree Makdisi writes, "There is nothing left to pare" of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to cut education funding in an effort to close a gaping budget gap.

Schwarzenegger's plan would slash $2 billion in K-12 education funding, $330 million from community colleges, $66 million from Cal State schools, and $66 million from the UCs.

"To under-fund our educational system is to jeopardize our position in the global economy," Makdisi argues.

Also today, the Times takes a look at the budget issues facing Los Angeles Unified.

On Sunday, the Breeze ran my (entirely un-budget-related) story about the push for school uniforms in LAUSD.

In Los Angeles Unified news today:

On the second anniversary of Superintendent David Brewer's hire, the Los Angeles Times' editorial board called for him and the Board of Education to "chart a graceful course for his departure."

The district needs better leadership during a "a treacherous moment for a school district that has long operated on the edge of failure," the ed. board wrote, citing a $200 million budget shortfall.

Also, the Daily News' George Sanchez reports that, in the face of that budget shortfall, the district has frozen almost all purchasing and prohibited the use of district credit cards. The freeze was announced Monday is a memo sent by Senior Deputy Superintendent Raymond Cortines.

*Add a hiring freeze: Sanchez's updated story, with more details.

USA Today reports on a new study that suggests the economic downturn is forcing cutbacks at school districts across the country, threatening academic gains made in recent years.

According to a survey being released today by the American Association of School Administrators, nearly half of superintendents are reducing hiring and cutting back on supplies. Twenty percent already have laid off staff, and another 31% have considered it.

"This is scary. This is the worst that I have seen," says Daniel Domenech, the group's executive director, an educator for nearly 40 years.

Depending on where they are, school districts rely on a mix of property, income and sales taxes, both state and local. Domenech notes that revenue from all three have fallen nationwide as foreclosures and unemployment have increased.

The survey, which queried more than 800 superintendents across the United States, found the following measures had already been taken to address budget crunches:

* Altering thermostats (62 percent)
* Eliminating non-essential travel (56 percent)
* Reducing staff-level hiring (48 percent)
* Reducing consumable supplies (48 percent)
* Increasing class size (36 percent)
* Deferring maintenance (36 percent)
* Reducing instructional material (35 percent)

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the California State University system may have to limit its enrollment from its 23 campuses because of the state's tightening budget.

System trustees on Wednesday will consider a proposal for the enrollment cuts as well as a plan to increase tuition for business school graduate students.

While individual campuses have closed enrollment in the past, such a move has never been imposed across the entire system, which is the largest four-year university operation in the country. The proposal does not estimate how many students could be denied admission, but it could be thousands.

His proposal follows the announcement this week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is beset by a multibillion-dollar shortfall in the state budget, of midyear funding cuts of $66.3 million to CSU. This summer, the state slashed $31.3 million in CSU funds.

It was a good Election Day for local school districts as millions of dollars worth of bond measures passed despite one of the worst economic seasons in a generation.

Torrance Unified passed two school bond measures totaling $356 million, which kept some elementary and middle schools off the chopping block. It is the first time voters approved a bond measure in the district in 10 years.

According to my story today about Torrance Unified's effort:

Other South Bay school districts also had positive Election Day outcomes in their bond elections.

Centinela Valley earned a 70.3 percent passing rate for the $98 million Measure CV and El Segundo Unified passed a $14 million Measure M with nearly 67 percent.

In Manhattan Beach, a bond measure to pay for a $67.5 million plan to upgrade Mira Costa High School passed with 61 percent of the vote.

Additionally, Manhattan Beach school board member Bill Eisen - a thorn in the side of his colleagues - was recalled with nearly 72 percent of the vote. And voters unanimously decided to replace Eisen with former Manhattan Beach Mayor Joyce Fahey.

I'd like to get some reaction about the successful bond measures. Tell me what you think.