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<H1
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id=articleTitle class=articleTitle>Governor's promise to 'protect education'
rings hollow as schools look at fine print</H1>
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href="mailto:tharrington@bayareanewsgroup.com?subject=ContraCostaTimes.com: Governor's promise to 'protect education' rings hollow as schools look at fine print">By
Theresa Harrington<BR>Contra Costa Times</A></DIV>
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id=articleDate class=articleDate>Posted: 01/13/2010 05:02:33 PM PST</DIV>
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id=articleDate class=articleSecondaryDate>Updated: 01/14/2010 07:17:18 AM
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<P
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class=bodytext>Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger crowed about protecting
education when he released his budget, he failed to mention a $1.5 billion cut
planned for next year along with a decreased cost of living adjustment.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"I
question the statement he is protecting public education with his proposal,"
said Joe Ovick, superintendent of the Contra Costa County Office of
Education.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">A
San Mateo County school leader was more succinct.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"It's
clear at this point that it's completely untrue that the governor is protecting
education," said Craig Baker, interim superintendent of the San Carlos School
District. His district had braced for a $1.5 million loss but now anticipates
losing at least $600,000 more.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Other
education officials statewide echoed those sentiments as they realized the
budget proposal would mean cuts of more than $200 per student in most districts.
The Mt. Diablo school district saw its projected deficit balloon from $17
million by 2012 to $35.3 million, due to the governor's budget and declining
enrollment.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"We're
taking things away that should never have been taken away," trustee Paul Strange
said Tuesday before voting to eliminate some librarians and music teachers and
to look at school closures.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Of
the $1.5 billion, the governor earmarked $1.2 billion in administrative costs
and $300 million in savings expected by allowing districts to contract out for
services. But many districts, such as Mt. Diablo, have already</P>cut deeply in
administration in an effort to keep reductions away from classrooms.
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"></P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"This
year, we cut over $30 million," interim superintendent Dick Nicoll said. "That
includes 28 administrators. We're disappointed, of course."</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Before
Schwarzenegger's budget release, the Oakland school district projected a $28
million deficit for the next school year, which it expects to deepen.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">The
Pleasanton school district's anticipated $3.6 million deficit increased to $6.9
million based on the governor's budget.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">But
the education budget hit is less brutal than what some other agencies are
facing, said Ron Bennett, president of School Services of California, which is
giving budget workshops to district representatives statewide. In a sense, he
said, Schwarzenegger is protecting education by not hitting it as hard as he has
in the past.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"The
governor could have been a little more forthcoming in his speeches," Bennett
said. "Some people say, 'That's deceptive.' What I say is, 'If you're going to
make your budget policy based on political speeches, you're going to die
soon.'"</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Some
school districts are facing near-death experiences. They stayed afloat after
drastic cuts in the past two years by using one-time money such as federal
stimulus funds to fill budget gaps.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"The
state economy has not recovered, the one-time money is gone and now we have this
additional cut," Bennett said. "In my opinion, next year will be the worst
funding year that public schools have ever had in California."</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">That
remains to be seen. Bennett's organization plans to lobby legislators to allow
flexibility in the cuts instead of targeting administration.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 15px 0px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">They
will not be sure where they stand until the revised budget is released in May.
In the meantime, they are rushing to cut as fast as they can.</P>
<P
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class=tagline>Staff writers Katy Murphy, Robert Jordan, Neil Gonzales and Shelly
Meron contributed to this story.</P>
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class=tagline><FONT color=#000000 size=2><A
href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14182629">http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14182629</A></FONT></P></DIV></SPAN></SPAN><BR
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