By Joani Gillllam
and Maggie Robak
Staff Writers
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District board members discussed the impact of the California state government’s announcement of the 2010-11 education budget in which MBUSD will receive $1.6 million during the Oct. 20 meeting.
The money from the district is a 4.98 percent increase from last year; however, the school board fears that the district will not receive the money the government has promised due to possible mid-year cuts in January.
“This would be a reason to celebrate, but the state’s proposed increases are not true,” MBUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews said. “The key factor is that they will give us the $1.6 million next year. We think this is a fake increase that the mid-year cuts in January will take away.”
Although the California education budget was approved on Oct. 8, the MBUSD cannot rely on any state funding until January, when the California education budget is reevaluated. The board worried that the possible mid-year cuts in funding may leave a large deficit on California districts, including the MBUSD.
“The board can begin its process of planning the 2011-12 school year once the budget is finalized in January. We can only hope we’ll be where we need to be when the budget is cut,” said Matthews.
MBUSD Board President Ida Vanderpoorte, Matthews, and MBUSD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Steve Romines recently visited Sacramento to lobby for more flexibility in the budget.
“The state used to give us more freedom to choose what we spend our money on, but now there may not be that flexibility in the budget,” Vanderpoorte said.
The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation has been instrumental in aiding the district through financial hardships. Nevertheless, the MBUSD board predicts an increase in class sizes, no funding for athletics and fewer staff development days. Although the board expects more budget cuts, if MBEF is able to raise the amount of money it has in the past, the district may not have to cut these programs.
“We will see fewer opportunities for teachers to learn and grow. This will affect students, but we are lucky. Some schools will have significant changes such as teacher layoffs and class sizes up to 38 students per teacher,” said Matthews.
However, the district is optimistic about its approach by cutting more last year to prepare for future budget cuts.
“Right now, the state is on the brink of becoming financially responsible in regards to the education budget, or having dire budgetary consequences,” Romines said. “The good news is that the board took a giant leap of faith and planned ahead during last year’s budget cuts for the worst case scenario. We are now reaping the benefits of that.”
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