Brown’s Budget Revise Pins More Hopes on Tax Hikes

Governor Jerry Brown’s May Budget Revise has raised the stakes for voters to pass Brown’s tax initiatives in November, or public school education will face even deeper cuts than expected.

Local school districts have been waiting on the May Revise to gauge the impacts the projected cuts will have on schools.

If the ballot initiatives to raise taxes fail, the automatic triggers will increase from $657 million to $5.5 billion. The new trigger includes a $2.8 billion deferral and a reduction in program funding of $2.7 billion. This equates to a reduction of 15 days to the school year.

Brown said the state deficit has ballooned from $9 billion in January to $16 billion.

Local school districts are still analyzing how the numbers will affect them, but district officials are predicting the worst-case scenario will have far-reaching impacts.

Charter Oak Unified School District had projected a $3 million loss if tax initiatives don’t receive voter approval, but officials said that could change with the May Revise. The district has already laid off 11 employees and has planned furlough days to bridge budget gaps.

But the annual round of pink slips has almost become routine for school districts, said Terry Stanfill, assistant superintendent of human services.

“It hurts us every year,” said Stanfill. “Layoffs used to be big news. Statewide, it’s as if every school district is doing layoffs. It’s almost news if you didn’t do any layoffs.”

For the first time since 2009, has spared teachers from receiving pink slips, but still projected an up to $2.7 million loss should tax initiatives fail.

Dominic DiGrazia, director of personnel services, said temporary employees were let go, but some could be rehired at the beginning of the school year. One furlough day will also be imposed.

Stanfill said rehiring the laid off employees in time for the new school year may not be an option for Charter Oak.

“It just doesn’t look good for those people to come back,” said Stanfill.  “It’s really going to depend on the numbers for kindergarten.”

Transitional Kindergarten classes will still get the ax under Brown’s plan, while new funding initiatives will be implemented – including a new formula for district funding.

"We're going to have to cut deeper," Brown said in Sacramento. "But cutting alone really doesn't do it," Brown said. "That's why I'm linking these serious budget reductions – real increased austerity – with a plea to the voters: Please increase taxes temporarily on the most affluent and everyone else with a quarter of a cent sales tax."

- Compiled with City News Service reports