Act now to shore up district budgets
Published: September 28, 2012
In today’s increasingly grim fiscal environment, with state support for K-12 public schools declining dramatically, California school board members must be “fiscally literate” to keep cash-strapped districts afloat. Teri Burns, CSBA senior director of Policy and Programs and a veteran school board member with the Natomas Unified School District, said it’s imperative that her colleagues on school boards throughout the state prepare themselves for the tough fiscal times ahead.
“Begin communicating now,” she said. “Keep your community informed so they understand what’s at stake when the board is required to make difficult financial decisions.” Burns urged governing boards not to postpone necessary but tough budget cuts. “Hard decisions will be just as difficult tomorrow, and delaying hard choices can compound the pain,” she said.
Pummeled by years of budget cuts and state deferrals, more and more school districts are experiencing significant problems balancing their budgets. FCMAT, California’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, reported earlier this year that a record 188 school dis-tricts have qualified or negative budget certifications. These designations indicate that districts already have serious budget problems or may soon develop shortfalls.
The situation will only get worse if California voters fail to approve at least one of two revenue measures on the November ballot that are designed to provide much-needed financial support for public schools.
Although public school supporters are working hard to ensure that the measures are successful this November, Burns said it is crucial that governing boards prepare contingency plans to keep districts afloat in the event that voters reject the propositions. Experts estimate that without these revenues, districts will face an additional cut of nearly $500 per pupil then. Because it is difficult to make staff reductions at midyear, Burns said many districts will have no choice but to cut instructional days.
“Communicate honestly and with integrity, focus on the big picture, which is long-term,” Burns urged her colleagues on local governance teams. “You won’t solve this overnight, it’s going to take time. Resources are available to help; we urge you to make use of them early on.”
Some of the best resources come from CSBA. Burns joined state and county fiscal experts in two CSBA-sponsored webinars to outline the basics of the state and county budget certification process and discuss fiscal survival strategies for governing boards. Archived versions of these presentations, a CSBA-produced handbook that details the basics of district budgeting and the budget certification process, and other materials are available at http://bit.ly/MAp6Lz.