It took longer than expected, but the Santa Cruz City School Board managed to produce a balanced budget in time to present it to the Office of Education. The $55.7 million budget cut $5.4 million, with concessions by virtually all parties involved included to make up the difference. In practical terms, it means that the school year will be one week shorter next year and adult education programs will be very sparse. In order to help, school administrators agreed to take nine days of furlough during the school year and to postpone some maintenance issues in the schools.
On the other hand, Santa Cruz schools still have certain advantages over most other schools in the state, says Diane Morgenstern, assistant superintendent of educational services. Class sizes for K-6 have increased, but they are still smaller than most schools in the state, and local schools still offer art and music programs. Board President Rachel Dewey also raised the scratch-cooking program now being offered, which provides students with healthy meals at the same cost as previous school food programs.
One major cut was the parent education preschool program, which falls under adult education. The program faced major cuts, and teachers and administrators will either lose their jobs or face severely reduced hours.
One of the major factors sparing the district even worse budget cuts was the parcel tax, which is expected to raise $3.7 million this year. The tax helps to pay for smaller classrooms and some of the special programs that have survived the cuts. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
