January 24, 2009
Colleagues,
Below, please find an update from the VTA budget committee members. The District Budget Committee is meeting twice a week to address the budget cuts to our district. Our members on the budget committee, Randy Wiens, JB Barton and Ron Ferreirae, have and will continue to dedicate a tremendous amount of time to ensure cuts are kept as far away from the classroom as possible. They deserve our deepest appreciation.
Jan O' Reilly
VTA President
www.vistata.org
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VTA Update on the current VUSD Budget Process January 22, 2009
The twenty-member VUSD Budget Committee is currently meeting twice weekly (Tuesday/Thursday), with an additional workshop planned with the Board on Monday, February 2, and a Facilities Sub Committee of the Budget Committee first meeting on Wednesday, February 4. The urgency with which the Committee is working is to prepare a 2009-2010 proposal to the Board for submission to the County that currently includes an anticipated $6.5 million cut from this year’s budget and an additional $9.5 million for next year (a combined $16 million). Another $2-3 million in cuts is expected for the 2010-2011 school year. The Board must submit its proposal to the County by the end of February.
Republicans, Democrats, and the Governor have failed to reach agreement on how it will attack the State deficit thus more complicating our ability to make definitive choices/decisions. Republicans today softened their position against any new taxes/revenues but no definite action has been taken. Democrats want to free up the use of categorical funds to backfill general fund obligations but no proposal has been approved. The Governor has proposed a 5-day work furlough that translates as an approximate 5% pay cut for everyone that would generate savings for the State but have “no” impact on our estimated $16 million budget cut. The Governor has also proposed withholding the January and February revenue allotments which has prompted our District to freeze spending in order to better meet payroll requirements. Needless to say, the crisis is getting worse and the lack of decisions at the top makes local decision making even more difficult.
The Committee is currently generating a “brainstormed”/“no-debate as yet”/“anything-goes” list of possible budget cuts. A list of items under review, both categorical and general fund, can be found on the District’s web site. Some items on the list have had preliminary discussion, but no formal recommendations have been made on any item by the Committee. Some items on the list would require contract negotiations between the District and both employee groups, which is out of the Budget Committee’s purview.
Key to the budget proposal is that cuts must be “ongoing”.
The VTA members of the committee appreciated your rushed responses to the pre-vacation survey that helped provide us with a very basic level of priorities felt by the membership. We have been in constant contact/discussion with President Jan O’Reilly, the Executive Board, and VTA Bargaining Team members.
We can expect release notices to be issued by early March, hence the February deadline for submission to the County. We can hope these will be more precautionary than reality. We can expect some programs and services to be reduced or eliminated. We can hope the impact will be minimal. We can expect major changes in how we operate as a District. We can hope for a quick return normalcy.
We will continue to update you as the process develops and details become known. At this time, don’t panic, but worry with the rest of us.
Respectfully submitted by JB Barton, Ron Ferreirae, and Randy Wiens.
www.vistata.org