More cuts seen for local schools
Sadly, more budget cuts will be necessary for the next school year in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, according to a report presented to the district’s five elected trustees at a December meeting.
Reductions totaling $16.8 million for the 2013-14 school year--and an additional $1 million for 2014-15--are needed “to maintain fiscal solvency,” the report noted. The report was prepared by Director of Fiscal Services Joan Velasco.
Also, due to the large amount of cuts needed, the district is issuing a “qualified certification” to the county Superintendent of Schools on the district’s ability to meet financial obligations.
Issuing a qualified certification means the district is “not positive” it will have the resources to meet financial obligations for 2013-14 and 2014-15, the report stated.
The district, at latest count, enrolls 25,645 students at 34 campus sites and pays 2,670 permanent employees. This year the district saved $3.5 million in teacher pay through five furlough days and a delay in anniversary or “step” increases.
The state education code requires Superintendent Doug Domene to submit two interim reports each year to trustees “indicating whether or not the district will be able to meet its financial obligations,” Velasco’s report noted.
The first report, due Dec. 15, was viewed by trustees at their final 2012 meeting. Since the district issued the “qualified certification” in the first report, a third interim report is required to be submitted by June 1.
According to the first report, revenue for the current school year, 2012-13, will total nearly $189 million, with just over $198.7 million in expenditures, leaving a red ink mark close to $9.8 million, most of which will come from savings from prior years.
Projected ending balance on June 30 will be close to $6.5 million, or 3.26 percent of the total budget number. Expected reserve is 3.16 percent for 2013-14 and 3.11 for 2014-15.
Without the $16.8 million in cuts mentioned, expenditures for 2013-14 are estimated to rise to $206 million, with income dipping to $187.3 million. Projected for 2014-15 are expenditures of $210 million with revenue at nearly $191 million.
Also, on Jan. 1, Congress kicked automatic federal budget reductions down the road two months. Depending on the outcome of a future vote, the district might see an 8.2 percent reduction in federal funds, adding about $408,000 to 2013-14 cuts. About $10.6 million in federal cash is projected this year, $10.5 million next year and $10.7 million 2014-15.
A Final Note: So far this fiscal year, the district has accepted $337,664 in donations from individuals, PTAs, businesses and service clubs for use at school sites, including $15,000 from a family with a student in Valencia High School’s International Baccalaureate Program, which granted 50 diplomas last June.
Principal Jim Bell told me the donation duplicated an earlier contribution of the same amount from the family, who asked that $20,000 go to IB and $10,000 to the school’s highly regarded chemistry program. (The family’s name remains private, per request.)
Reductions totaling $16.8 million for the 2013-14 school year--and an additional $1 million for 2014-15--are needed “to maintain fiscal solvency,” the report noted. The report was prepared by Director of Fiscal Services Joan Velasco.
Also, due to the large amount of cuts needed, the district is issuing a “qualified certification” to the county Superintendent of Schools on the district’s ability to meet financial obligations.
Issuing a qualified certification means the district is “not positive” it will have the resources to meet financial obligations for 2013-14 and 2014-15, the report stated.
The district, at latest count, enrolls 25,645 students at 34 campus sites and pays 2,670 permanent employees. This year the district saved $3.5 million in teacher pay through five furlough days and a delay in anniversary or “step” increases.
The state education code requires Superintendent Doug Domene to submit two interim reports each year to trustees “indicating whether or not the district will be able to meet its financial obligations,” Velasco’s report noted.
The first report, due Dec. 15, was viewed by trustees at their final 2012 meeting. Since the district issued the “qualified certification” in the first report, a third interim report is required to be submitted by June 1.
According to the first report, revenue for the current school year, 2012-13, will total nearly $189 million, with just over $198.7 million in expenditures, leaving a red ink mark close to $9.8 million, most of which will come from savings from prior years.
Projected ending balance on June 30 will be close to $6.5 million, or 3.26 percent of the total budget number. Expected reserve is 3.16 percent for 2013-14 and 3.11 for 2014-15.
Without the $16.8 million in cuts mentioned, expenditures for 2013-14 are estimated to rise to $206 million, with income dipping to $187.3 million. Projected for 2014-15 are expenditures of $210 million with revenue at nearly $191 million.
Also, on Jan. 1, Congress kicked automatic federal budget reductions down the road two months. Depending on the outcome of a future vote, the district might see an 8.2 percent reduction in federal funds, adding about $408,000 to 2013-14 cuts. About $10.6 million in federal cash is projected this year, $10.5 million next year and $10.7 million 2014-15.
A Final Note: So far this fiscal year, the district has accepted $337,664 in donations from individuals, PTAs, businesses and service clubs for use at school sites, including $15,000 from a family with a student in Valencia High School’s International Baccalaureate Program, which granted 50 diplomas last June.
Principal Jim Bell told me the donation duplicated an earlier contribution of the same amount from the family, who asked that $20,000 go to IB and $10,000 to the school’s highly regarded chemistry program. (The family’s name remains private, per request.)
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 AM
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