Superintendent Message

SUPERINTENDENT’S DECEMBER 2011 MESSAGE

PREPARE FOR MID-YEAR TRIGGER CUTS

These are the warnings coming out this month from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) and the numbers are not pretty.  The budget that was passed by the state last June eliminated extensions of existing taxes on car licenses, income, and sales taxes.  The hope was that an improving economy would bring in additional tax revenues to replace these.  In the event that this projection didn’t happen, the budget included a provision to impose ‘trigger cuts,’ at varying levels depending on the amount of the deficit.  The LAO is projecting that the state will be short $3.7 billion in this fiscal year.  The way the trigger cuts are designed to work requires that the first $2 billion be made up from cuts to various state programs and the CSU and UC systems.  The amount after that would fall on K-12 schools.  This means that K-12 schools may be expected to take a cut of about $1.7 billion in THIS FISCAL YEAR.   This translates to a cut between $181-189 per student.  For Oak Park, that cut would mean a reduction of about $775,000.  Based on the information that I have already shared with you about our fiscal situation, you know that we do not have the ability to absorb that level of cut.

This projection by the LAO is not the final word, however. On December 15, the Department of Finance will announce their take on the state’s fiscal condition and the law requires that the state use the more optimistic of the two estimates.  Everyone expects that the LAO projection is the worst of the two and so this should be the worst-case scenario. 

It is highly likely that we will put in motion, a campaign to raise these funds here in Oak Park as we had discussed last year if reductions of this level were to be imposed on us. The alternative will be drastic cuts to the program in the middle of the instructional year, which would include the possibility of a shortening of this school year. 

I will send out an updated email as soon as we hear the news from the Department of Finance or any further developments.  As you think about making end of the year contributions to charities, please keep in the back of your mind that we may be asking for your help through this crisis in order to preserve the program and the school year for your children, recognizing that you are already being asked to contribute to the schools on many levels. 

I wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!   I hope you can find some extra time to spend with your children as they grow up way too fast. 

Dr. Tony Knight

Superintendent