Las Virgenes School District closes the book on biggest budget ever

More funding for art, music and physical education is expected for California public schools, including the Las Virgenes Unified School District, but the devil is in the details when it comes to next year's school budget.

The board of education last week adopted a record-breaking $90 million budget for the 200607 school year, due in part to California's improved economy.

"We do have a budget deal," Deputy Superintendent Donald Zimring said. But the deal came with caveats, he said.

Zimring presented a report to the school board dubbed "New Opportunities and New Challenges" that demonstrated a healthier fiscal outlook for the district, but one that still poses some hurdles.

Reserve level increased

In the budget, the board approved a 3.5 percent reserve level-a half percent higher than required by law-to guard against unexpected expenses.

Last year the district was forced to submit a "qualified" budget with less than the statemandated 3 percent reserve because of the suspension of Proposition 98, which cost public schools $3.2 billion in lost revenues. The proposition is a constitutional funding guarantee for the state's public schools.

The cushion of an extra half percent was not welcomed by some parents. Dana Greenspan asked board members why it was necessary to go "above and beyond" 3 percent when the funds could be used for a raise in teacher salaries.

Board members see the situation differently. Unanticipated costs occur on a regular basis, and if the budget dips below a 3 percent reserve level the district is at risk for penalties.

"For all practical purposes, (a) 3 percent (reserve) is zero," board member Pat Schulz said.

"We were blown out of the water," said board member Dave Moorman regarding last year's unanticipated special education costs. Although the state is reimbursing public schools the money that was borrowed over the last two years-which amounts to about $1.2 million to Las Virgenes-other mandated cost reimbursements have been taken away. Zimring estimates that the loss will cost Las Virgenes between $1 million and $2 million.

Declining enrollment

Zimring said the school district will be challenged to provide higher academic achievement despite declining enrollment numbers that translate into lower schools revenues.

Declining enrollment, in fact, is what district officials believe is the "crisis de jour" for many California schools, including the Las Virgenes district, which has faced enrollment drops for three consecutive years.

District officials hoped the state budget would include relief for districts that suffer from a drop in enrollment, but that money was struck from the budget, Zimring said.

"More and more districts are caught in this trap," Zimring said. "We're dropping at a fairly predictable rate." He said the enrollment projections through the 2010-11 school year show a drop of about 100 students each year.

Although declining enrollment would force cuts in teacher jobs, the correlation of savings to expenses is far from equal, district officials said.

For example, if a school has an enrollment drop of 50 students and a teaching position must be cut, the loss of money per student is far greater than one teacher's salary.

The school district receives about $5,500 per student, which this year translates into a loss of $275,000 because of lower enrollment. Elimination of a teacher's salary, however, would save about $75,000. But often a teaching position cannot even be cut because the loss of students doesn't correlate to a specific grade level or class.

Don't skip school

When students miss school- no matter what the reason- schools lose money. Last year, officials said the average daily attendance for students at the local public schools hit an all-time low. The three-year historical average for attendance in the district has been 96 percent, but last year the rate dropped slightly due to student absences from the winter flu, officials said.

Superintendent Sandra Smyser said the district will take a hard look at which schools and grade levels had the most student absences.

Special ed funds lacking

District officials were disappointed that state funds earmarked for special education "equalization" were abandoned by state officials. Equalization funds would have helped ease the financial shortfalls for school districts such as Las Virgenes that have a higher number of special education students than the state average.

Last year, the district received $190,000 in one-time grants for special education, but officials said the funds are not expected next year.

Federal funding for special education also is expected to decrease by 0.4 percent. The drop was especially galling to district officials, who said that the federal government has an obligation to pay 40 percent toward special education costs, but generally pays no more than 11 percent.

Zimring said there was a "huge increase" in district legal costs brought on by two lawsuits.

Except for the Beverly Hills Unified School District, Las Virgenes has the highest per capita cost for special education in California, Zimring said. Twenty-two percent of the district's budget is allocated for special education, he said.

In a related matter, the state has set aside money for more middle school and high school counselors, but Zimring said Las Virgenes will not qualify for the extra funding because it's not considered a low income school district.

And the good news is. . .

On the brighter side, general equalization aid will be boosted.

Las Virgenes always falls below the state average of funding, and the district will benefit from extra state income that is meant to balance funding from school to school.

The Cost of Living Allowance was boosted to 5.92 percent, the highest in recent history, according to Zimring.

Several one-time grants will be giving to schools for art, music and physical education programs. Library programs will also receive funds through a one-time grant.

Though the grant money for art and music is earmarked for supplies and equipment there is another source of money that may pay for teacher salaries.

"The 2006-07 school year represents one of potential and challenge for the Las Virgenes Unified School District," Smyser said. The potential she referred to would be the increased state funding levels for education and the approval of Measure G, the school bond recently passed by voters.

Zimring said final details of the district's budget won't be known until the state passes its own budget.

A copy of the full budget is available on the district website, www.lvusd.k12.ca.us/webapps/ portal/.