By Bruce Colby and Jim Belenis
Special to The Enterprise
The Davis Enterprise

The Davis Joint Unified School District is, by almost any standard, the best in the region. Our test scores are tops in the area and we have close to a 100 percent pass rate on the California High School Exit Exam.

Generations of Davis community members have built these schools and programs with their tax dollars and donations. When a statewide proposition reduced monies for public schools, Davis voters responded by passing one of the first parcel taxes in the state earmarked for instructional purposes.

And, last spring, when the governor announced education budget cuts, Davis responded with an unprecedented private fundraising drive that kept pink-slipped teachers in the classroom for the 2008-09 school year. Even with this heroic effort, we lost some qualified teachers because they saw this as a sign that Davis' historic support for quality public education was in jeopardy.

So now, what about next year, and the year after that?

This year's state budget battle — which is still ongoing — put us on notice that we face a new reality. For at least the near future, funding from the state of California will not be adequate to maintain the quality education programs we currently offer to Davis children and teens.

The gap between the education our students need and the money we have was bridged this year by two sources of one-time money: $1.5 million from the fundraising drive led by the Davis Schools Foundation and $1.2 million from "rainy day" funds. This allowed us to rescind more than 100 layoff notices that were given to our teachers and save our programs.

For future years, we have a choice in filling this funding gap. We need to either increase local revenue or cut classroom programs — it's that simple. On the chopping block would be drastic cuts to our elementary school science program; class periods for core science, math, English and social sciences; librarians; our music program; class size reduction in ninth- and 10th-grade English and ninth-grade math; foreign language; and other classes that prepare our children for college or to transition to the workplace.

This is simply the reality of the budget picture we face today. And the question is: What do we as a community do about it?

Measure W, on the ballot Nov. 4, will let voters decide whether to pursue the first option, increasing revenue.

Measure W assesses homeowners $120 per year, with a voluntary exemption for residents who are 65 or older. Apartments are assessed at a lower rate. The tax will last for three years and expenditures require review by a citizens oversight committee. The parcel tax requires a two-thirds Davis voters majority for approval.

Funds raised by Measure W will go only to preserve these classroom instruction programs and librarians that are threatened by state cutbacks; no new programs will be funded.

If Measure W does not pass, we must find ways to slash $2.4 million from the district's general fund early next year. Last spring, district staff, board members, parents and community members struggled mightily to make cuts in the budget that would have minimal impact on students. In order to preserve program and reduce our spending deficit, the district has already reduced its ongoing budget by $1.1 million annually through belt-tightening in administration, operations and staffing.

The financial reality is that 82 percent of the district's budget goes straight into direct student support in classrooms, counseling offices, school offices and libraries. With maintenance and utilities included, the district spends more than 91 percent of its budget on teaching students and operating schools.

This record of delivering funds directly to classroom learning and minimizing administrative overhead is one of the best in the state. If forced to make deep reductions, we have few remaining options that avoid negative impacts to our students.

The district also has worked to keep spending under control, relying on extraordinary staff and community support to maintain excellent schools. Over a five-year period, from 2003-04 to the approved budget for 2008-09, total spending rose only minimally, keeping pace with inflation.

Participants in a community budget workshop found little fat to cut. More than 100 community members gathered at the Veterans' Memorial Center on April 7 to answer difficult questions about budget priorities. What was more important: science or math, music or English? Reduced class sizes for 10th-grade English or librarians?

In the end — thanks to the generous donations of the Davis community — we were able to rescue these programs. But, without additional local funding, we will once again be asking the hard questions about which specific drastic reductions must be made to existing student educational programs.

The simple fact is that the Davis Joint Unified School District has delivered excellent educational programs of which generations of Davis residents can be justifiably proud — and that define our community.

Today we are at a crossroads. Either we find and support additional local funds for our schools, or vital educational programs will be cut. That is the choice we now face in Measure W: Protect what we have today, or begin slicing away at educational programs in our schools.

— Bruce Colby is the chief business officer of the Davis Joint Unified School District. Jim Belenis, a financial planner, is a member of the school district's Business Advisory Committee.