Surviving the budget axe

SLO County’s school superintendents tighten belts and learn how to do more with less

BY DANIEL BLACKBURN

School superintendents start worrying long before the newest crop of students flock to their hallowed halls of learning. It’s part of the chief’s job description.

And these are fine times for responsible concern: With reduced numbers of young families able to find housing in San Luis Obispo County, and with wildly fluctuating demographic changes, fiscal planners for the county’s 10 school districts are scrambling to maintain order.

Add to this a pall of uncertainty regarding state funding, as legislative budget wranglers still have not been able to agree on a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Since California schools get 40 percent of total funding from the state, such an impasse is particularly nettlesome to those who must draw up blueprints for expenditures. Lower enrollment numbers mean lower allocations from the state.

During the 1990s, when housing prices in SLO County bottomed out, the total school population rose to 37,000. In the past two years, however, the increase has flattened and most school budget writers anticipate a steady decline.

Today, school populations in the North County are generally up. Shandon, San Miguel, and Paso Robles districts are recording slight increases. The other seven county districts will experience either declines or flatlines.

So while state funding may diminish in years to come, fixed costs like wages and benefits continue to swell.

But a dose of homework and preparation can do wonders for whatever might be ailing the bankroll of local education entities, believes James Stechner, superintendent of Atascadero Union School District.

Stechner’s district, with 5,823 students, is going to experience a small net loss of 40 students in the upcoming year. However, the district has declined by 300 since its highest population in 1996, and that has created an environment where sharp, blue pencils are the order of the day.

"We are in good shape, considering what is going to be allotted to the district," Stechner said. "We have been taking a very conservative approach to budgeting here, always expecting the worst. But sometimes, a declining enrollment has benefits."

With several years of experience at paring expenditures, Stechner suggested it is easier to deal with constricted funding "if you monitor it and catch it in time to develop staffing to meet your real needs."

He may need to initiate some cutbacks somewhere, he added, "but there should be enough to do the job."

The state’s pending budget contains about $44 billion for schools, a smaller amount than in past years. The pared budget makes sweeping changes in performance awards for teachers and development programs for math and reading teachers. Grants for low-performing schools to hire better teachers also got inked out of existence.

To help balance the budget, Gov. Gray Davis has proposed an accounting maneuver that would slightly delay payment to schools of $1.7 billion to push the expenditure into the next fiscal year.

The county’s largest district, Lucia Mar Unified, expects little growth this year, according to assistant superintendent Mike Sears, who thinks that will be the case over the next five years. With 11,000 students and a $68.5 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Lucia Mar officials must walk a narrow line between monetary health and famine.

"We are seeing a bit of a shift in the economic makeup of our residents. There aren’t as many young families," he said.

Sears said the biggest funding challenge faced by his district has been the opening of Nipomo High School.

"Costs of operating a new school without new or continued revenues can be daunting," he said.

Curtis Debost, superintendent of the Templeton Unified School District, said his biggest problem at the moment is dealing with a disproportionate loss of funding for independent studies.

There are 500 students schooling at home, nearly 20 percent of the district’s population of 2,600 youngsters, he said.

"Our district has a particularly good program for independent home studies," Debost said. "Right now, we don’t know the exact [state budget] number, but reductions might be as much as 10 percent of the program’s funding."

The current uncertainties of state funding "make it extremely difficult to settle with the teachers’ association," he said. Teachers and the district have been at an impasse during the last year over contract disputes.

"We are in a better position than some districts because we are flat in enrollment," Debost said, meaning that reduced state funding doesn’t impact his planning as much because he’s used to it. "This is no way to run a business, but we know the political realities," he said.

But things are really going swimmingly for Templeton.

"We are completing the performing arts building, hope to have it open by Christmas," noted Debost.

Also exciting to Debost are a new football stadium, an added wing at Templeton High School, and a new multi-purpose room that will be shared between the elementary and middle schools.

"It’s all from a different pool of money," he added quickly.

Steven Ladd, superintendent of San Luis Coastal, said his district’s biggest question is the future.

San Luis Coastal funds most of its operations with local taxes and utility funds.

"We have had significant budget problems in the past three years," Ladd said, pointing to bankruptcy problems for deep-pocket neighbor PG&E, and the resulting closures of classroom facilities.

Sunnyside and Morro elementary schools have been closed, and Teach and Bishop’s Peak schools have combined into one campus at the Bishop’s Peak site. Pacheco School has moved to the old Teach campus.

"We’re excited about the kids going to new schools," Ladd said. "There is a lot to look forward to."

Administrators are "very sensitive about how painful it was" for some parents to move their youngsters to different campuses but feel that, financially, it was a step in the right direction.

Programs have been reduced, Ladd said, "but we live year to year with money problems."

The most vigorous growth in the county is anticipated by the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District, located in an area which itself is experiencing rapid population expansion.

"We are virtually the only [SLO County] district that is really growing," said Superintendent Patrick Sayne. He has planned for a three percent overall growth since last year–188 new students.

Uncertainties about housing affect planners even in areas where housing is somewhat affordable, such as in Paso Robles.

"The cost of housing often determines how many kids are in each house, and that’s always changing. But we’re still the cheapest place in the county to live. Our problem is the massive increases to health costs [for employees]," Sayne said.

Sayne knows that uncertainty about state funding can be problematic.

"A school district is like a large ship. Inertia makes it hard to turn very quickly," he said. Æ

New Times news editor Daniel Blackburn can be reached at [email protected]