State revenue shortfall likely to cause midyear cuts, LAO says
Published: December 1, 2011
State revenues are likely to be $3.7 billion below the level assumed in the 2011-12 budget, which could prompt $2 billion in midyear “trigger” cuts, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office announced in mid-November.
If the Department of Finance issues a similar forecast this month, the state must cut K-12 funding by $1.4 billion, according to the budget agreement struck by Gov. Jerry Brown which counted on higher state revenues. This includes a reduction of $1.1 billion (about $183 per student) from the revenue limit, plus $248 million from transportation funding.
Gov. Brown suggested in June that schools should absorb the cuts by shortening the school year by up to seven days.
While the LAO’s revenue projection is not surprising, the prospect of further cuts to school budgets—especially midyear when staffing levels and other programs cannot easily be adjusted—was disheartening to CSBA President Martha Fluor.
“The cuts we’ve been forced to make in the last several years to vital school programs and services in virtually every California district have been devastating,” Fluor said.
Assembly Bill 114, passed as part of the budget deal in June, took away districts’ ability to prepare appropriately for midyear cuts by requiring staffing levels to remain the same as last year. The requirement puts local educational agencies in an untenable position, said Fluor, who implored legislators to give school districts the flexibility they need to adjust staffing levels.
“It’s become nearly impossible to continue providing the high-quality education our students need today and on which our future depends,” she continued. “Making even more cuts just a few months from now is unthinkable.”
Read the LAO report, “California’s Fiscal Outlook: The 2012-13 Budget,” at www.lao.ca.gov.