Budget Crisis not as Severe for Los Gatos Schools

trustees have restored programs and resources that were cut earlier this year because of budget uncertainties in Sacramento with a $550,000 Measure A allocation.

The money will allow the district to do the following: 

• Have additional sections for ninth-grade English and Algebra 1 to reduce class size.
• Have additional sections across the curriculum to reduce overall class size and offer a broad spectrum of classes for all students.
• Restore of per-pupil spending for classroom supplies to prior levels.
• Support staff whose work directly impacts students.
• Reinstate a portion of the guidance counselor for Nova, the district's alternative program that had been cut during the 2010-11 school year.  

Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District Superintendent Cary Matsuoka said trustees are waiting for state legislators to pass a budget and then determine what other restorations can be made for the 2011-12 school year.

trustees now have more control over funds to effectively plan for the next school year, Matsuoka said.

The measure is expected to generate an additional $800,000 for the district over the next six years.

On the other hand, budget cuts to the which is the biggest school district in Los Gatos with five schools, will have a dismal impact.

According to district officials, the district is a Basic Aid district that gets most of its budget revenue exclusively from local property taxes.

The district even has a “rainy day” reserve of 17 percent of its overall budget.

Cynthia Simms, Los Gatos Union School District interim superintendent, said, however, that the organization looks to eliminate the director of human resources position, reduce restricted routine maintenance hours and reduce classroom material spending by 40 percent to pass its budget for the next school year.

The board also looks to use up to 1.5 percent of its reserve, dropping the total fund to 15 percent.

“We are aiming to keep the classroom sizes down to a 23 or 24-student average,” Simms said. “That means we will be reducing our expenditures. Our budget impact is not as great as other districts; that’s why I enjoy the support of the , the Los Gatos Home and School Club and the parcel tax that we are benefiting from; they make up 22 percent of our budget alone.”

The district passed a parcel tax in 2008 that generates $2.6 million annually for the district over six years.

Gov. Jerry Brown introduced his budget revision earlier this month, which announced that the state raised an additional $6.6 billion in unanticipated tax revenue, which brings the state’s new budget deficit to just under $10 billion.

The budget revision calls for no further cuts to kindergarten-through-12th-grade education and the passing of tax extensions by a vote of the people to close that gap and create a budget reserve of $1.2 billion.