Budget Cuts Are Completed by Board

March 19, 2010

Budget Cuts Are Completed by Board
By Patricia Koning

The trustees of the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District completed the difficult task of trimming nearly $9 million from the budget for the 2010/11 school year at its March 16 meeting. On March 2, the Livermore Board of Education approved $7.7 million in cuts; on Tuesday they added nearly $1.3 million.

“I want to make one thing clear. The recommended reductions do not suggest that we don’t value our people,” said acting superintendent Mike Martinez. “We are just faced with enormous cuts.”

The Board considered a list of 12 possible cuts: school library improvement program (SLIP) funds ($44,000), K-5 science materials ($10,000), business department ($54,000), human resources ($63,800), student services ($148,000), special education ($165,000), adult education ($573,000), tech specialists ($187,000), library media specialists ($260,000), high school athletics ($100,000), board member conferences ($15,000), and publishing board agendas ($2,750) on the District’s web site. They voted to enact nine of the cuts.

The trustees voted not to move forward with cuts to K-5 science materials, the student services and special education departments. After a protracted discussion, with trustee Anne White fighting for the full allocati on, the trustees agreed to reduce their budget for board member conferences to $10,000.

“We’ve got to take our cuts like everyone else does,” said trustee Chuck Rogee. “I think it is appropriate for us to take a $5,000 reduction and try to live within out means.”

A number of audience members demonstrated their support for adult education. Several audience members held up a long sign that read “Please Help Us To Help Our Children.” Three adult education students spoke passionately about the impact the ESL program has had on their lives.

“In my opinion, without knowledge of English, a human is not a full member of society in this country,” Mane Sargsyan, a student in the adult education ESL program. “Don’t cut our chance to be educated. Don’t axe our hope to be involved in the community. Don’t cut our wishes to be full members of society.”

Martinez explained that the District plans to keep the K-12 programs that directly support students such as GED and credit recovery; English as a Second Language (ESL) and citizenship programs; as well as fee-based classes that are cost neutral. “We had a long, deep conversation about adult education. I want to emphasize that I am recommending cuts to adult education funding, but adult education will remain. It may not look the same as it does now,” he said.

Board President Stu Gary described many adult education programs as critical to the ongoing success and social fabric of our community. “Adult education is very complicated,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts.”

One reason for that complication is that adult education is funded by federal, state, and other streams, some of which carry stringent requirements. Adult education also has fee-based classes that are now subsidized by the District’s general fund. This summer the District plans to present a proposal to change the fee structure of some adult education programs so that they are self-sustaining.

A number of audience members also spoke in support of the agriculture program at Livermore High School. At the start of the meeting, officers in Livermore High School’s Future Farmers of America program described the many benefits and accomplishments of their organization.

“There has never been a line item for further cuts to the ag program. It hasn’t even been discussed this year,” said Gary. “Why turn off something with the roots that agriculture has in this community?”