“That’s part of the frustration as we’re trying to get a handle on, ‘What’s our target?’” Chief Business and Financial Officer Eva Rae Lueck said, adding that the state’s ongoing budget discussions have created confusion about what educators should plan for while preparing their budgets.
“That target has shifted dramatically, and it’s not finished; it is not done yet,” Lueck said.
State lawmakers crafted a plan in February to make up for a projected $42-billion deficit caused by California’s financial crisis, a result of diminished tax revenues and housing prices. Since then, the deficit has been on track to grow to a projected $24 billion by next year.
The February plan included a net cut of $2 billion from education, but Schwarzenegger’s proposal for solving the new projected deficit would slash $6.3 billion from schools over the next two years, among cuts to other state services.
If those reductions are approved, the district would have to make difficult cost-cutting decisions, but it is not clear how deep the cuts would be or when they would be enacted, Lueck said.
If legislators adopt Schwarzenegger’s proposals, the district would receive only 82 cents for every dollar it currently expects to get, which, combined with the midyear cuts, would shrink the district’s budget by $14.4 million from what it was in 2007-08, she said.
“When 92% of your budget is salaries and benefits, and when your cut is basically 18%, you’re looking at significant changes that we’re going to have to do in our budget and the way we do business,” she said.
