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The highly anticipated list of budget cuts that Mountain View Whisman administrators plan to recommend to the school board is now public, with proposed reductions ranging from ending the district’s subsidized preschool program to halving the number of evening custodians.
For months, district officials have been talking about the need to significantly trim the budget to address sinking revenue and rising costs. In November, the district decided to pursue making at least $9 million in annual cuts. This week’s proposed reductions were released as part of the agenda for the board’s Jan. 15 meeting.
The topic is scheduled for board discussion on Thursday, with a final vote not expected until a Jan. 29 meeting.
The looming reductions are the result of projected budget shortfalls caused by substantially slower growth in property tax revenue, which is the district’s main source of funding. Assessed values grew only 2.34% this year, a stark reduction compared to the 8.79% average growth that the district has benefitted from for the last six years.
The county assessor has told the district to anticipate two to three years of the same or lower revenue growth, according to Thursday’s staff presentation. This school year, the district is projecting to spend $3.7 million more than it makes, and deficit spending is only expected to grow over the next couple of years – unless cuts are made.
Mountain View Whisman administrators – after engaging with parents, teachers and staff – compiled a list of cuts for next school year that would result in roughly $10 million to $11.5 million in savings. If approved, the cuts would eliminate the equivalent of approximately 31 to 45 full-time positions, depending on which cuts the board selects. This may equate to more individuals because some employees work on a part-time basis.
Thursday’s meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in the district’s board room, 1400 Montecito Ave.
Laying off district office staff and administrators: $3.79 million
The director of student services, a communications specialist and teachers on special assignment are among the positions that administrators are proposing to cut, according to this week’s presentation. In total, the equivalent of 19 full-time positions are listed for elimination.
Superintendent Jeff Baier revealed at a meeting last month that administrators were looking to recommend letting go of at least 15% of district office employees. In a survey sent out to parents and staff regarding where Mountain View Whisman should look to make reductions, respondents favored cuts being made at the district office level.
If the school board decides by the end of the month to move forward with a formal Reduction in Force process, affected staff would be notified by March 15 that they could be laid off, Baier previously told the Voice.
Making changes to PE or STEAM instruction: $1 million or $2.38 million, respectively
Currently, Mountain View Whisman contracts with a company called Rhythm and Moves for physical education at its elementary schools and hires dedicated teachers to provide instruction in science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
The proposal is to eliminate either the Rhythm and Moves contract or the dedicated STEAM teachers and have classroom elementary teachers take on responsibility for the instruction in the affected subject. Students would still receive education in both disciplines, regardless of what the school board decides.
When asked if administrators will suggest one of the choices over the other, district spokesperson Shelly Hausman noted that a staff survey showed classroom teachers favored eliminating the dedicated STEAM instructors. She added that while the final decision is ultimately up to the school board, this option also saves more money.
Eliminating Expanded Learning Opportunities Program: $1.66 million
For the last several years, Mountain View Whisman has been operating the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, a free after-school offering for students who are English language learners, from low-income families or in the foster care system.
Mountain View Whisman has been using previously-received state funding to run the program. This money will dry up by the end of the current school year, and though the state provides some funding for ELOP, the district’s expected contribution to fully operate it next year is $1.66 million.
The district would still maintain its Beyond the Bell program, which according to Hausman, has similar programming to ELOP but a different funding source. However, BTB would not be able to serve all of the students who qualified for ELOP, according to the presentation.
Reducing or reassigning student support staff: $1.42 million
Administrators are suggesting reducing at-risk support supervisors and school community engagement facilitators, as well as reassigning behavior technicians to fulfill different responsibilities.
The proposal is to go from having two at-risk support supervisors at Castro Elementary School and Graham Middle School to one per campus, while keeping current staffing levels at the rest of the district’s sites.
For school community engagement facilitators, the district is suggesting going from having the equivalent of 1.5 full-time SCEFs at Castro and Mistral elementary schools to one each. The remaining seven elementary schools would share the equivalent of three full-time SCEFs. Graham and Crittenden middle schools would keep one each.
When it comes to behavior technicians, they would be reassigned to support specific students with specialized needs, rather than being available to serve students schoolwide. The shift could result in cost savings by having behavior technicians fulfill some of the work currently covered by special education aides, Hausman told the Voice.
The district would also increase its number of unpaid counseling interns from three to seven.
Reducing custodial services: $939,000
The district is suggesting reducing its nighttime custodial staff by 50%, which equates to the elimination of 6.5 full-time positions. Restrooms would still be sanitized and trash taken out every day, but classroom vacuuming and surface wipe-downs would only occur every other day. Common areas, such as offices and staff rooms, would be cleaned on a rotating schedule.
Eliminating the state preschool program: $695,000
Mountain View Whisman is contracted to provide part-day preschool services to young children through the California State Preschool Program. The school district also offers subsidized full-day preschool and afterschool programming for eligible families at a below-market rate.
As a result of providing full-day and afterschool offerings, the district’s operating costs are not fully covered by the state contract, Hausman said. According to the presentation, the district expects that its cost to operate the preschool program will continue to rise in the future.
Reducing technology in younger grades: $319,000
Instead of assigning every first through third grade student a laptop, administrators are recommending that these younger students only receive a Chromebook upon a parent’s request. Fourth through eighth grade students would continue to be assigned individual devices. Additionally, kindergarten classrooms would share a cart of laptops, rather than each classroom having its own.
Assistant principal: $295,000
The district is considering removing the equivalent of one full-time assistant principal, according to Thursday’s presentation, which does not include additional information on this recommendation.
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated the schools that could see a reduction in at-risk support supervisors. Castro and Graham are the potentially impacted campuses. The Voice regrets the error.
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Haven’t had a kid in school in a while, but seems reasonable
The cuts seem to minimize impact on the students. How did we get $3.5M over budget this year?
Less taxes paid by commercial property owners than expected.
Teachers have also had 4-5% raises for a few years, so salaries compound faster than taxes grow.