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 Those
of us in the business office had the great opportunity to attend the
School Financing Conference recently. School Services are the experts
when it comes to school financing. They are the ones we go to when
we want questions answered. It was important for us to hear from them
what their understanding of the governor’s proposal was. Also, this
is the place where you rub shoulders with business people from the
small, medium, large and very large school districts such as Fresno
and Clovis. It is a place to exchange your sorrows and pick up some
tips and tricks from other business folks.
“If you think you dodged the bullet, you are wrong - you just delayed
it!” How is that for starters? Yes sir, they didn’t beat around the
bush. The message was loud and clear: Be prepared and expect the worst.
School Services is forecasting an $8-11 billion deficit next year
with possible mid year cuts of $535 million or $90 per average daily
attendance.
The state plans to borrow $7 billion in bonds: Pension Obligation
Bond, Tobacco Revenue Bond (to be repaid from tobacco lawsuit payments),
short term bonds. There are other assumptions: The state expects to
receive $2.2 billion in federal funds, $680 million in Indian gaming
revenue. The state plans to suspend payment to the State Teachers’
Retirement System (STRS) retirees (lawsuit pending), suspend transfer
from the general fund to the transportation fund and other adjustments.
The state expects to collect money from vehicle license fees to the
tune of $825 million if and when that happens.
Let’s talk about election and politics because our future depends
on who is going to be the governor. Will we get an education-friendly-governor;
how will he or she impact us? We can stay tuned to the politics and
stare into the crystal ball until the cows come home but uncertainly
is not a pleasant thing.
Here are some sound bites from the candidates: “$8 billions in taxes,”
“no taxes but lots of cuts,” “some taxes and some cuts.” These are
a lot of promises and some nice campaign slogans. Closing the $8 billion
gap has its own permutations. The stage has been set. Let’s wait for
the play to begin. And, let us hope that at the end of the play education
survives.
What we know today doesn’t bother us much because we can plan for
it; what we don’t know about tomorrow (possible mid-year cuts) scares
us a lot!
School
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