By Jeff Hudson
Enterprise staff writer
The Davis Enterprise

Davis school board members were told Thursday they will have to trim $4 million from the school district's budget, a much higher figure than the $2.5 million reported in December.

The district may have to eliminate 50 to 60 full-time-equivalent positions — likely including some teachers and administrators.

"When we're talking about FTE reductions, people are losing jobs," trustee Gina Daleiden noted.

"Yes," replied Bruce Colby, associate superintendent for business services. "And we're losing program(s)."

The Davis school district is already initiating the cuts. Under terms of the contracts with bargaining units like the Davis Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association, the district is required to notify employees of possible layoffs in the next five weeks.

"By March 15, we need to come up with the list of (potential) cuts," trustee Richard Harris observed.

Assistant Superintendent Kevin French clarified that "the March 15 date is when notices are delivered. The list of cuts will come by the March 6 board meeting — if not earlier. We will probably begin (at the school board meeting) on Feb. 21."

Colby indicated some of the cuts may take the form of changes in student-teacher staffing ratios — increasing the class size, or dropping classes that don't draw as many students. He added that he's feeling the budget pinch, too: "I have two openings in my department. They're both on hold."

Colby said parents who are taking their children on a five-day trip can help the district by signing up for independent study while they are away. School board president Sheila Allen, who recently went to Washington, D.C., with her family, said she did just that.

Allen also acknowledged the silent presence of two administrators from the Yolo County Office of Education who are monitoring the Davis district's budget — Linda Legnitto, associate superintendent, and Scott Lantsberger, director of business, management and advisory services.

If Legnitto and Lantsberger conclude that a district is running too far in the red, they can "qualify" its budget, leading to a partial takeover of financial affairs. Legnitto told The Enterprise that all of the county's school districts are preparing to make substantial cuts.

Complicating the budget picture is that local school districts won't know how much money they will get from the state until summer, or perhaps fall. The Legislature is sparring over some dramatic budget reductions the governor proposed in January.

But the Davis district, like others, will need to give notification next month to employees who might be laid off later this year in a worst-case scenario. This is so the district will "have enough room when we make the final budget decisions" after the state budget is finalized, Colby said.

Some job cuts will be achieved through retirements and normal attrition. But district administrators, school board trustees and leaders of bargaining units like the Davis Teachers Association seem reconciled to the virtual certainty of some pink slips being issued.

Colby outlined various factors putting pressure on the district's budget, including:

• Declining enrollment. Colby displayed a graphic showing an enrollment drop of 137 students from 2003 through 2007, resulting in a loss of $800,000. This year, the district is taking a bigger hit, with the decline of 190 students, leading to an anticipated loss of as much as $1 million.
• The district has an estimated deficit of $2.5 million for the current year, caused by declining enrollment and "continual under-funding of mandated programs." These are programs that are required — but not fully paid for — by government.
• Colby said that, for instance, the district provides $1.7 million in educational services for students in the FamiliesFirst program in East Davis, as required by the state — but the state pays just for $1.1 million of that.
• The district could experience a $1.4 million shortfall from the governor's budget proposal, which contains no funding increases for cost of living and includes "across-the-board reduction(s) to all state-funded programs," Colby said.
• The district remains heavily dependent on the state for revenue, with 89 percent of general fund revenue ($61.3 million out of $69.2 million) coming from state-apportioned funds.