School's final budget saves librarians, counselors

The Las Virgenes Unified School District adopted a $96.7million budget for the coming school year, sparing cuts to high school classes and saving the jobs of counselors and librarians, at least for the time being.

Karen Kimmel, chief business official for the district, presented an overview of California's economy and the district's efforts to bridge the $2.1-million gap between money provided by the state and local sources and what it costs the district to operate its 12 campuses.

The district made ends meet with a combination of new facility leases, reduced staffing at all school sites, lower administrative costs and other "efficiencies."

One big savings was the leasing of the Indian Hills High School campus to a private school in a $270,000 cost-cutting move, and restructuring the Las Virgenes Community Learning Center, an alternative elementary school, which spared another $265,000. Kimmel and Superintendent Donald Zimring also negotiated a reduction in the district's liability insurance rates, saving $200,000 next year.

Tuition for Buttercup Preschool was increased, and the summer program will no longer be free.

The fourth/fifth-grade science program will continue, but one teaching job was eliminated, saving the district $65,000.

While the finance committee recommended that Agoura and Calabasas high schools each cut five class sections to save money, Zimring said that both high schools had already begun building their master schedules for the 200809 year and couldn't reasonably make the changes. He recommended that instead of eliminating specific class sections, principals must take other measures to save as much money as possible.

Counselors and librarians will also keep their jobs for at least one year through Measure E "bridge funding," Kimmel said. Bridge funding allows flexibility to fund unexpected expenditures

Kimmel said the federal government continues to shirk its financial responsibility for Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act mandates. The federal government is supposed to kick in 40 percent of the costs for special education services, but has never done so since former President Bill Clinton signed the law in June 1997. If the 40 percent were to be funded, Las Virgenes alone would receive an additional $6.5 million in annual funding, she said.

Next year's expenses outpaced revenues by $726,600, which is reflected in a shrinking reserve fund. The $4.2-million reserve fund translates to 3.66 percent of the budget and meets the state's 3 percent minimum requirements, but Kimmel said the amount would not be enough to cover the teacher payroll in the event of further state budget cuts. If the state continues to deny costofliving funding, the reserves will drop to 1.58 percent in 200910 and to almost nothing by 2010-11, Kimmel said.

"We can handle it this year," Kimmel said of the deficit spending, but if the trend continues in following years, the school district will face serious financial repercussions.

Zimring said the district must maintain a 2.5 percent minimum reserve to be "stable."

He said the district was "not confident" that the $2.1 million in funds bridging this year's budget will suffice in the upcoming years. "We're on the edge right now, and we have no idea what the state is going to do."

Kimmel called the process of cutting and finding ways to earn money, "painful."

Board President Cindy Iser said, "We have listened; we have tried. . . . We are doing our best to make everything work. I think this budget goes a long way addressing everyone's needs. It's been a puzzle to put together."