Fresno Unified Trustees Talk About Budget
By Pablo Lopez and Eddie Jimenez, The Fresno Bee, Calif.
Jun. 5–Fresno Unified School District trustees Wednesday night discussed a proposed budget that protects student academic programs, emphasizes campus safety and maintains music, arts and after-school sports next school year.
Teachers also will keep their jobs and have additional money for instructional materials.
The proposed budget, however, has no salary raises for employees, makes cuts in the central office and dips into the district’s reserves.
Trustees had many questions for Ruth Quinto, the district’s chief financial officer, and other staff members Wednesday night, but overall found little fault in the financial package.
“As I look at the numbers, I don’t know how you pulled a rabbit out of the hat, but you did,” board member Michelle Arax Asadoorian told Quinto.
No one stepped forward to speak during the public hearing session on the proposed budget. Peri Lynn Turnbull, the district’s chief information officer, said that was remarkable, given the size of the district and the state’s financial situation.
The school board is expected to adopt the proposed budget at its June 18 board meeting.
Quinto said revenue next school year should be $430 million, while expenses should be $437 million.
The district will make up some of the difference by tapping into its reserves, which are expected to decrease from $39 million to $32 million.
There also will be cuts in the district’s central office, which supplies support services to schools, Quinto said. Among those cuts will be reductions in travel, training and office supplies, she said.
Quinto said she and other staff members who worked on the budget tried to minimize the effect on students and teachers.
“Our thinking is our central office will make reductions so our schools don’t have to,” she said.
There will be a reduction in the teaching force because of declining enrollment, Quinto said. But there are no planned layoffs because the district anticipates some employees will retire or leave to work in another district.
“Our goal is every Fresno Unified employee will land in a position,” she said.
Some of the budget’s highlights:
Elementary schools — $15.3 million for such things as intensive reading teachers in grades four through six; instructional coaches for math and English teachers; noontime assistants; and peer mediation and administrative support staff for Title 1 campuses.
Middle schools — $11.5 million for such things as intensive English and math teachers; on-campus suspension program; case managers; learning coordinators; instructional coaches; campus culture personnel; and counselors.
High schools — $9 million for such things as English and math teachers in ninth-grade class-size reduction classrooms; counselors; instructional coaches; activity directors; and on-campus suspension program and police officers.
District officials also plan to spend $1.8 million in reserves to fund safety programs for the lowest performing schools. In the past, the state had funded the program that supplied support staff such as additional campus assistants and noon-time assistants.
The state also plans to reduce funding to the district for arts and music by $369,354, but Fresno Unified plans to pick up the tab to support magnet and elementary music programs, Quinto said.
In addition, the district will spend $326,000 to continue elementary and middle school athletic programs that began this school year.
The district also will continue to set aside $3 million to help teachers purchase instructional supplies.
In the past, the district had allocated less than $2 million for instructional supplies.
Any unspent instructional supply money from this school year will be carried over to next school year, Quinto said.
The reporters can be reached at plopez@fresnobee.com, ejimenez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6330.
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