BERKELEY – The Berkeley Unified School District Board agreed to just under $1.8 million worth of budget cuts at its Feb. 21 meeting.
Board President Josh Daniels was attempting to get to $1.8 million in cuts, but his fellow board members voted to stop $15,000 short.
The board had agreed to approximately $1.596 million in cuts at its Feb. 7 meeting. There were several proposals for cutting the final $203,791. Many were extremely unpopular with teachers, staff and parents, who turned out in force for public comment before the board made its cuts. The 160 seats in the chambers were almost all full with many more people lined along the walls. Approximately 45 minutes of public comment was almost entirely various constituencies pleading with the board to preserve specific staff positions and programs.
Among the proposed cuts were reductions in the adult education program, security officers and a vice principal at Malcolm X Elementary School.
The board went back and forth over several possible cuts. It took nearly two hours to come to agreement. Some of the cuts were “on paper.” Another $25,000 was cut from the legal budget, added to a $50,000 cut previously agreed upon. Vice President Judy Appel noted that legal fees can vary, depending upon whether or not the district is sued. Board member Karen Hemphill said, “It’s an exercise on paper. It’s a wish.”
Another paper cut was taking an extra $25,000 from the consulting budget, which had already been slashed by $75,000 at the Feb. 7 meeting.
The board also agreed to move the transitional kindergarten program back to elementary school sites within the next three years, which saves $50,000. The program is for children who turn 5 in the fall and could benefit from a blend of pre-kindergarten and standard kindergarten to ease the transition to regular kindergarten. Several speakers had expressed concern because the program had recently been moved off elementary school sites and they don’t want to see the locations bounce around.
Another $50,000 was cut from the materials supply budget for homeless services. BUSD staff indicated that the Local Control Acccountability Plan overlaps with the services and could make up the difference.
The board had already agreed to transfer $450,000 of expenses from the General Fund to the Berkeley Schools Excellence Program (BSEP), which is funded by Measure E1. Staff told the board they had found an additional $39,000 worth of programs that could be transferred. BSEP pays for smaller class sizes, student support, technology, music and visual arts, libraries and other programs.
There is a citizens’ Planning and Oversight Committee that advises the district on how the tax revenues are spent. All shifts from the General Fund to BSEP will be presented to the committee.
The entire package of cuts was approved by the board unanimously.
The reductions had to be made to the long-term budget, so one-time costs for the current school year couldn’t be counted. They were necessitated by a “structural deficit,” due to changes in revenue streams, growing pension costs, rising special education costs and potential raises for staff.
The board tabled an item on the agenda that would have discussed possible new ongoing expenditures. Danies said it was a bad idea after cutting so much out of the budget. The board will take up the issue at a future meeting, possibly in early April. Enrollment numbers, which determine funding, will be out in April, which could allow for new programs to be funded.