Berkeley Adult School blog

On Wednesday, May 25th the BUSD Board of Education received the Superintendent's recommendations on budget reductions for the 2011-12 school year. As previously reported here, Berkeley Adult School received a reprieve from Governor Brown and Superintendent Huyett, and there are some caveats. Below is the language from the Information [agenda] Item 4.1 I relating to BAS, which details specific requests (full version available here)

IMPACT OF GOVENOR’S MAY REVISIONS

The Governor released May Revisions of his January Budget proposal. The May Revision included the recognition of $2.8 billion in additional revenue for 2010-11 and $3.5 billion for 2011-12. This new revenue is being used to eliminate $2.1 billion of deferred payments from the State to school districts. The Governor recognized that school districts have borne a disproportionate share of cuts during the past few years an all cuts-budget would require a suspension of Proposition 98, which he was not willing to do.

The bottom line is the revenue that Districts will receive based on average daily attendance (ADA) will be roughly flat for next school year. The good news is that the District does not have to make draconian cuts at this time as anticipated. The bad news is that the Governor cautions against expectations that this new revenue erases the Budget problem by pointing out that the ongoing structural deficits continue. To balance the budget, the Governor assumes extension of the higher tax levels.

Although, the District revenue will remain relatively flat next year, the District still has an anticipated structural deficit of approximately $.7 million due to the following:

• The District has relied on one-time federal stimulus funds of $3.5 million this year and will only have $1.7 million next year.
• The District made cuts last year to offset state budget cut of $2.4 million and the state budget cut never materialized. Only $.7 million of the District cuts were restored.
• The District has to cover increased costs for step and column, increased health benefits costs for classified employees that are below the District’s subsidy, and inflation costs.
• The District also has a projected reduction in revenue limit due to loss of enrollment to a new charter school

Staff, the Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee and the Superintendent are in agreement and have proposed budget reductions to address the $.7 million deficit (BAS's contribution to this deficit is $90,000, the other contributions available on the full agenda item here). However, there is a difference of opinion on how the savings will be used if the proposed changes in the adult education program exceed their target of $90,000. The Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee, based on a split vote of 7-6, recommends that any additional savings be transferred to the general fund. Staff recommend that any additional savings be transferred to the general fund and be targeted for Career Technical Education (CTE) programs throughout the District. The Superintendent supports the staff recommendation.

The Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee requested that Staff research and considers the following proposed budget reductions:

• Establish minimum class sizes at Berkeley Adult School in which classes will not be offered or must be consolidated.

DISTRICT GOAL

V. Resources: Generate and equitably allocate resources for programs and services that enable every student to succeed.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION

Receive the Superintendent’s proposed budget reductions to balance budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 for information.

Proposed Budget Reduction - Recommendation

• Adult School charge additional fees (Increase fees for ESL program from $30 to $45 and review other course fees on the basis of competitiveness and set new fees. When setting new fees, issues of access should be considered; not all courses can sustain a fee increase).
• Restructure Inter City Services
• Reduce .5 FTE Budget Analyst

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