Gov.'s budget dips into education Gov.'s budget dips into education (January 21, 2005)

Retirement fund becoming more costly for local districts

By Julie O'Shea

While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed $2 billion slash to the state education system won't leave local districts financially strapped, officials here said they are disappointed that schools, once again, are bearing a heavy burden.

"The governor seems to be backing away from his commitment to education," said Rebecca Wright, the finance chief at the Mountain View-Whisman School District. "This, right now, might be considered the golden age for students, and that's really sad."

Last year, Schwarzenegger asked state educators to give up $2 billion in order to help close a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. In that deal, the governor promised educators that he would pay them back over the next several years. School officials also said the governor promised to keep education off the chopping block for the 2005-2006 budget.

It is unclear how much Schwarzenegger's proposed plan will hurt Mountain View-Whisman. Wright hasn't done the calculations yet. She did note, however, that the district will likely have to contribute a lot more to the State Teacher Retirement System.

Earlier this month, the governor unveiled a $111.7 billion budget, up from $76.1 billion last year. Wright said she doesn't understand why funding for education keeps getting taken away when the economy appears to be on the rise.

"It's discouraging and disappointing," she said.

But the elementary-and-middle-school district isn't the only one that will be impacted.

The Mountain View-Los Altos high school district will also have to pour money into the teachers' retirement system.

Jim White, the district's chief finance director, said the state budget cuts mean he'll have to find between $300,000 and $350,000 extra for the teachers' retirement fund.

But "there isn't any reason to fret about it now," White said, pointing out that the state budget could be heavily revised before it is voted on by the Legislature.

The high school district, unlike Mountain View-Whisman, receives the majority of its revenue from property taxes. And this income is expected to grow by 6 percent this year, White said.

Los Altos School District Superintendent Marge Gratiot said she also was not jumping to conclusions.

"Everything is just really preliminary at this point," she said. "I learned not to get too excited about it."

Gratiot, who is retiring at the end of this school year, said her district hasn't figured out how much money Los Altos will lose with the state budget proposal.

The California Teachers Association calculated that state schools have lost $9 billion to budget cuts since 2001. During the 2001-2002 school year, California's spending per student was $600 below the national average.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

E-mail a friend a link to this story.