Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

1 day ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

1 day ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

1 day ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

2 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

2 days ago
Schools Face Prospect of Layoffs, Furloughs as State Budget Gets Slashed
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 5 years ago on
May 18, 2020

Share

California’s public schools, physically closed since mid-March and strapped for cash, are coming out of a frying pan and into a financial fire.

The fire comes in the form of a $6.5 billion cut to schools’ main source of funding as well as other reductions in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget that, if enacted, would mean single-year reductions to public education greater than those experienced during the Great Recession a decade ago, according to advocates.

Ricardo Cano
CalMatters

Newsom’s budget includes several nooks and crannies that ease a $15.1 billion shortfall for K-12 schools and community colleges. Still, the proposed education cuts arrive as schools expect to tack on more costs in order to safely reopen their doors for teachers and students in the fall.

That leads us to the frying pan: About 7 in 10 California school districts were spending more money than they were receiving prior to the pandemic, according to the California School Boards Association, and 40% were already weighing employee layoffs to help offset rising costs.

“School districts are in this very, very difficult place where they’re supposed to achieve things they’ve never done before and implement really deep budget cuts simultaneously,” said Kevin Gordon, a veteran education lobbyist.

Newsom’s revised $203 billion state budget includes across-the-board cuts that he said could be partially averted if the federal government provides assistance. Public education, which accounts for about 40% of the state’s budget, would be significantly impacted by a 10% cut, or $6.5 billion, to the Local Control Funding Formula the state uses to award money to schools.

Also gone would be many of the proposals for expanded preschool and teacher training and recruitment Newsom laid out in January, when he and lawmakers had advanced a record $84 billion budget for K-12 schools and community colleges.

Education Advocates Credited the Governor for Making Moves

One pandemic later, the state’s financial outlook has shifted significantly. Instead of adding to years of steady investments in public education and early childhood programs, state leaders now will have to decide what to salvage and where to cut, while local school officials will have to figure out those trickle-down effects on their local budgets.

Education advocates credited the governor for making moves that helped cauterize the $15.1 billion shortfall in education funding. For example, Newsom plans to steer $4.4 billion in federal CARES Act pandemic relief funds for schools to use to address students’ learning loss during distance learning. The governor also proposed temporarily reducing the rate school districts must contribute to cover employee pension obligations, effectively freeing up $2.3 billion in local budgets in the near term.

About 7 in 10 California school districts were spending more money than they were receiving prior to the pandemic, according to the California School Boards Association, and 40% were already weighing employee layoffs to help offset rising costs.

Newsom, who grew up with dyslexia, also plans to keep $645 million in special education funding he proposed in January, saying that “we are not even close to where we need to be in terms of protecting those folks.”

And while schools should expect a 10% decrease in the flat, per-pupil base grants every district receives under the state’s funding formula, Newsom vowed to protect the extra amounts the formula channels to schools with higher concentrations of students who are English learners, low-income, or foster youth.

Still, the proposed cuts could spell financial catastrophe for schools akin to the cuts students experienced during the Great Recession, when services and programs were slashed and more than 30,000 educators were laid off, leaving long-lasting damage to the state’s teacher workforce.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom gestures toward a chart showing the growth of the state’s rainy day fund as he discusses his proposed 2020-2021 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Jan. 10, 2020.. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

More Than 80% of Any Given District’s Budget Goes Toward Salaries and Personnel

“In that context, the cuts are too severe,” said Ted Lempert, president of the Children Now youth advocacy group.

So-called categorical services — such as after-school programs for kids, career technical training and adult education — are slated for a $353 million cut in the governor’s proposal. Advocates fear disadvantaged students will bear the brunt of the looming cuts, similar to recession-era cuts they say disproportionately affected the state’s poorest students.

“We need to be getting extra support to make sure that every kid is getting some significant learning right now, and there’s way too many kids who are falling through the cracks,” Lempert said.

The degree to which local districts will be able to weather the looming cuts will depend on their financial state prior to the pandemic.

“Every district’s in a different position. Some have reserves. Some have better fiscal conditions than others,” said Keely Bosler, director of the California Department of Finance.

More than 80% of any given district’s budget goes toward salaries and personnel.

“They are very employee-heavy, employee-intensive operations, so there will be a lot of hard (decisions) at school district levels,” Bosler said. “I don’t want to sugarcoat that.”

Some of the state’s school districts, steeling themselves for cuts, have already laid off some employees. Other districts that have struggled for years to balance their budgets will deal with far larger deficits. The Sacramento City Unified School District, for example, estimates a $77 million shortfall in its budget.

“We can reasonably expect over the next year that, like other districts in the same fiscal situation as Sac City, we’ll need to employ other strategies that could include furloughs, pay cuts, loss of jobs and loss of programs,” said superintendent Jorge Aguilar in a plea for federal assistance.

Another Conundrum Confronting California Districts

The Clovis Unified School District has never done layoffs in its 60-plus year history, according to Associate Superintendent Michael Johnston. The growing district of 43,600 students began planning for the likelihood of cuts right after schools physically closed March 13, leaving some district office positions unfilled.

Clovis Unified will tap its reserves to mitigate a projected $30 million in cuts, while looking at areas to trim that are “as far away from the classroom and that help us to be able to not lay off employees,” Associate Superintendent Michael Johnston said. That could mean forgoing routine investments in technology and infrastructure, and leaving more open positions unfilled.

Clovis Unified will tap its reserves to mitigate a projected $30 million in cuts, while looking at areas to trim that are “as far away from the classroom and that help us to be able to not lay off employees,” Associate Superintendent Michael Johnston said. That could mean forgoing routine investments in technology and infrastructure, and leaving more open positions unfilled.

Another conundrum confronting California districts: who to cover the costs to safely reopen schools. By one estimate, schools spent more than $2 billion on feeding students and families, and buying computers in bulk for distance learning. Now, they expect to spend more on protective equipment for teachers and students, cleaning supplies, increased bus trips, and more computers for students in the event that they’d have to revert to distance learning for portions of the school year.

Beyond the logistics of reopening, many school practitioners have sounded alarms about the growing, pandemic-induced mental health needs and additional academic support for students once schools reopen.

“This budget would be insufficient in ordinary times, and is less than what is required for most schools to reopen safely during a pandemic,” said Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, president of the state school boards association.

“If schools don’t reopen, our economy can’t fully reopen.”

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

DON'T MISS

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

DON'T MISS

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

DON'T MISS

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

DON'T MISS

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

DON'T MISS

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

DON'T MISS

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

DON'T MISS

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

UP NEXT

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

UP NEXT

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

UP NEXT

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

UP NEXT

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

UP NEXT

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

UP NEXT

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

UP NEXT

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

UP NEXT

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

UP NEXT

Video-Sharing App Vine Is Returning ‘in AI Form’, Musk Says

UP NEXT

CBS News Taps Tanya Simon as New Boss of ’60 Minutes’ After Trump Lawsuit

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

9 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

10 hours ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

10 hours ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

10 hours ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

10 hours ago

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

11 hours ago

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

11 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

1 day ago

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

1 day ago

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

1 day ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The entire board of directors overseeing Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools in Sacramento has either resigned or been removed...

7 hours ago

The entire board of Highlands Community Charter in Sacramento stepped down after a state audit found the school improperly received over $180 million and engaged in questionable spending. (Shutter
7 hours ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a ward for Palestinian patients at El Arish Hospital, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, in Arish, Egypt April 8, 2025. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
9 hours ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

U.S. President Donald Trump golfs at Trump Turnberry resort in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 26, 2025. (Reuters/Phil Noble)
9 hours ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

Noah Robinson, 38, was arrested after allegedly robbing a Visalia Long John Silver’s at knifepoint and attempting to flee through nearby backyards with $110 in stolen cash on Friday, July 25, 2025. (Visalia PD)
10 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

10 hours ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

Craft Brewer Jack McAuliffe With Jim Koch of Samuel Adams
10 hours ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

fresno
10 hours ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend