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Special Reports - School Budget Crisis

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008

Almost $12M gone from Modesto schools budget

Hundreds protest reductions that include librarians, nurses

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The Modesto City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to cut $11.6 million from the upcoming school year's budget, sparing elementary music teachers and abandoning a proposal to increase kindergarten class sizes.

The board endured a tongue lashing from nearly 700 people who squeezed into Johansen High School's auditorium and overflowed into the cafeteria, where they watched the meeting on a large projection screen.

The package of cuts includes eliminating junior high librarians, reducing nurse positions and eliminating the college- preparatory AVID program for low-income and minority students at one junior high and four high schools.

The $11.6 million cut is about 4.3 percent of the district's $270 million general fund budget.

Board President Belinda Rolicheck thrust an inch-thick packet of e-mails in the air to start Friday afternoon's special board meeting, a continuation of a meeting earlier this week that was shut down by the Modesto Fire Department because of its overcapacity crowd.

"I just want to let you know, you've been heard," Rolicheck said.

The board was about to hear a whole lot more.

Hundreds of librarians, counselors, nurses, teachers, parents and union officials paraded to the podium for nearly three hours of questions, pleas and the occasional angry outburst.

"When you decide to cut seventh- and eighth-grade librarians, music teachers, counselors, kindergarten teachers, nurses and two great ladies that worked with me, my library assistant and book room clerk ... ," Davis High School librarian Stephen Walker said, finishing with a favorite phrase of his students, "that's messed up."

The district must identify $400,000 more in cuts before submitting a budget to the Stanislaus County Office of Education by March 15, said chief business official Debbe Bailey.

If the district cannot do so by then, the county office can control the district's spending, Bailey said.

MTA approval needed

The district still must get the Modesto Teachers Association's approval to implement some of the cuts, such as increasing the high school counselor-to-student ratio. The district plans to save nearly $384,000 by increasing the ratio from 520:1 to 625:1.

"I have my work cut out, but I think it's a good compromise," Superintendent Arturo Flores said.

MTA officials said the budget cuts unevenly target schools, with twice as many cuts in dollars at schools as at the district's central office. They said more than 50 teaching positions represented by the MTA are at risk. The California School Employees Association said 16 classified positions are at risk.

"The majority of the cuts will still be closest to the classroom," MTA President Megan Gowans said. "Your priorities reflect not only a poor set of decisions, but a lack of fairness."

360 student signatures

Downey High School student Suzanne Valdivia, 16, spent two days helping collect 360 student signatures protesting the cuts. She's the sergeant in arms of Downey's marching band and plays alto saxophone in the jazz band.

"I'm here because music isn't a hobby," Valdivia said. "Because of music, I want to go to college. I want to be in a marching band. Do you want someone running the country who listens to nothing but hip hop and rap?"

Bret Harte Elementary kindergarten teacher Susan Heringer spoke against the proposal to increase class sizes in kindergarten. It was not approved by the board.

"I would ask you to realize we're not just singing songs and dancing," Heringer said. "We can do a lot with 20 students. We will do less with 30 or more students."

School nurse Debra Bowman said she serves more than 1,800 elementary school students. More than 500 of them have health issues such as heart problems and asthma or are severely handicapped.

"I've had parents think we are the primary health service for their family," Bowman said.

"It is not Band-Aids and aspirin anymore," added fellow school nurse Marlys Layne.

Bailey, the district's chief business official, urged the audience to contact their legislators and protest Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposal to slash $4.8 billion to school districts over 18 months.

"I'm sure that members of the public and the board are outraged by these proposals," Bailey said. "And all I can say is, so are we. We have to do our best to maintain both the educational program and financial solvency."

County Superintendent of Schools Tom Changnon leaned against the auditorium's wall, surveying the packed room.

"If we had this many people in Sacramento," he said, "it might make a difference."

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.