School District Proposes Layoffs, Salary Cuts to Close Shortfall

March 1, 2010

Districtwide salary reductions, nine layoffs and dipping into reserves are among the measures Fallbrook Union High School District administrators are considering to close a projected $1.8 million budget shortfall for the school year starting July 1.

Laying off seven teachers, a counselor, an assistant principal and all tempor ary teachers would save the district an estimated $465,000, district officials said last week.

Officials said the district could also cut salaries for all of its roughly 280 employees by 1 percent to 3 percent for $192,724 to $578,172 in savings, or choose instead to give employees one to three furlough days each year for between $86,726 and $260,177 in savings.

The district would use about half of its $2.2 million reserve fund to cover the remaining shortfall, officials said.

The district’s board of trustees is scheduled to tackle the funding gap at its March 2 meeting.

The operating budget for the coming school year is projected to be about $27.1 million, down from this year’s projected $29.4 million. In the 2008-09 school year, the district spent $29.5 million.

Budget shortfalls of about $1 million have plagued the district for the past two years and officials expect the trend to continue for at least several more years as the state struggles with its own budget woes.

The district’s funding troubles are compounded by declining attendance, a problem caused by falling birth rates and faced by districts nationwide, officials said.

Attendance dropped by 182 students this year, from 2,941 to 2,759. Officials said enrollment is expected to fall another 150 students next year and continue to fall off through the 2012-2013 school year.

"This is virtually new ground and territory for school districts across the state," Superintendent Dale Mitchell said of the district’s persistent financial challenges. "But I’m optimistic that we will have quality programs and services for our students next year."

Fewer students means less money for the district. That’s because school districts receive money from the sta te based on attendance. Officials said the district expects to receive $5,759 per student from the state next year, meaning it could lose more than $850,000 with its projected 150-student drop in enrollment.

Teachers have voiced concerns about bigger class sizes. Laying off nine teachers and all of its temporary teachers would raise the student-to-teacher ratio from 24 to 1 to about 25 to 1, or the same as 2008-2009 levels, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he knows teacher layoffs are unpopular, so he proposed pay cuts and furlough days as options for the board to consider.