(Photo: San Diego educators gather to discuss school budget cuts. Ana Tintocalis/KPBS )
School superintendents from Oceanside to Chula Vista say they will probably be sending layoff notices to school employees next month. That's because the Governor's proposed budget calls for huge education funding cuts. The educators came together yesterday to talk what could be a difficult year for teachers and students. KPBS Education Reporter Ana Tintocalis has this report.
The school superintendents say the county stands to lose $350 million in state funding if the Governor's plan is approved. Virtually everyone at the public meeting was stunned by the proposed cuts.
Educators: It simply defies logic. It is totally unacceptable. This is a huge step backwards.
The Governor is calling for a $14 billion cut to education. San Diego education officials say the local share of that cut could be as much as $350 million. They say that would be the biggest state funding cut since 1978.
The superintendents say they're trying to figure out how to slice their already shrinking budgets. Many school districts in the county are already struggling with declining enrollment and less federal education money.
Peggy Lynch is the superintendent for the San Dieguito Union High School District.
Lynch: For the past four years in my district we've done layoffs, limited programs etc. etc. And all of us have done that in our districts so far, and all of us are now asking ourselves, where else can we cut?
The answer is people. Superintendents say they'll have to layoff teachers, counselors, reading specialists and custodians. Class sizes are also expected to get much bigger.
The largest district, San Diego Unified, stands to lose $80 million. The district's new superintendent Terry Grier says that's going to be devastating.
Grier: If we have to cut $80 million out of our budget, the sky will have fallen. It will have fallen on a lot of our children. Ands I can tell you, it angers me. Because of what it does to our teachers. Our teachers -- that's where it starts and stops folks -- in that classroom.
California's Secretary of Education David Long sympathizes with the pain many school districts are feeling. He says all of California's public service sectors are facing an across-the-board cut.
Long: If it had not been a 10 percent across the board and if one department had been saved…that would have meant like in health, closing many hospitals. With prisons, we would have had two or three times as many prisoners as they are now talking about released on the streets. This is a difficult situation.
San Diego County superintendent Randy Ward is hoping for the best. He says half of San Diego County's school districts drop thing like afterschool programs and coaching for kids learning English as a second language. He says cutting education funding is short-sighted because it will drive up other costs.
Ward: We're going to need an increase in the budget for welfare. We're going to need an increase in the budget for social services. We'll need an increase in the budget for mental health services. And certainly and we'll need an increase in the ever-increasing budget for prisons.
The people with the most at stake are the parents. PTA leader Lorene Joosten says so far they're just trying to grapple with all the bad news.
Joosten: I think right now everybody is just dazed over the magnitude. The magnitude of these cuts are just phenomenal.
Joosten says class sizes at many schools could jump by as much as a third. She says transportation and music and art programs could also get the ax.
School administrators are planning for the worst because they have to draf their budgets now. However everyone realizes things could change as state lawmakers work out the details of California's next spending plan.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
