School budgets hinge on measures

DOWNTOWN — More budget cuts may be on the horizon for local schools if voters don’t support a series of ballot measures, a possibility that has forced educators to think about contingency plans.

The state budget, which the Legislature passed in February, included billions in funding reductions to education and other services. Lawmakers placed the initiatives on the ballot — which includes tax and fee increases, a government spending cap and the privatization of the lottery system — in an attempt to close that gap.

If the measures fail, lawmakers would have to revise their plan to make up for budget shortfalls, months after they approved the effort to close a $42-billion deficit by the end of 2010.

That possibility is on the minds of administrators in the Glendale and Burbank unified school districts, who have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of added cuts, they said.

“We’re not hearing good stuff,” said Glendale Unified Supt. Michael Escalante, referring to poll results showing low voter support for the six ballot measures.

A Public Policy Institute survey showed that none of the propositions gained support from a majority of the likely voters surveyed.

More cuts to education would mean that local educators would have to consider more options, like layoffs to facilities, maintenance and administrative staff in coming years, Escalante said.

Glendale Unified will not have to make layoffs for the 2009-10 academic year because it has planned to weather any additional cuts with its reserve fund, which totals $21.3 million, he said.

But if more cuts come, the district will be forced to trim its staff, he said.

“We’re already working on that right now, beginning to look at where we’ll make further reductions in our overhead because that’s the only place that we can,” he said, explaining that Glendale Unified is trying to prevent teacher layoffs using its reserves and other cost-cutting measures.

Burbank Unified has retained the option of laying off 61 employees during the current year because of budget constraints and will need to find other potential areas for reducing district expenses if more reductions set in, Chief Business and Financial Officer Lori Ordway-Peck said.