In response to the proposed California budget plan, the district has assembled the Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee.
The committee includes district staff members, administrators, community members and a student from each high school.
This school’s representative is sophomore Chris Beyer. Because the district wishes to create a “secure setting” where people can talk freely, meetings are closed to those not in the committee.
The committee had its first meeting on Thursday, January 22 and will have two more to help Superintendent Barry Groves prioritize funding cuts. The board hopes to have a recommendation for the School Board in March.
Although unsure as to what budget reductions might entail, the district hopes to reduce the impact felt by students.
With a projected state deficit of $41.8 billion, Groves’ “best guess” is that the district will have between $1 million and $2 million less next year.
Groves said that there is also a “very good chance” that the district will have to send between $500,000 and $1 million to the state this year. Students “should not see any changes this year,” but the district has encouraged teachers to spend less on classroom supplies so that they have additional funds for future years.
According to Chris, the committee has determined some areas where it hopes to minimize reductions.
“The last places we want to cut are the teachers and classes,” Chris said. “That would be our last resort because we want to keep as many staff there as possible. … It might have to be coming down on classes [with low student enrollment.]”
Class sizes may be an area affected by budget reductions. According to Groves, because the school will likely have fewer students than in years past, there is less of a need for staff. Groves said that with less money available next year, there will be fewer periods of each class. This in turn would result in an increase in class sizes.