CSEA PAC FLASH BUELLITIN 2/24/2012

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Fight to Save Transportation Funding Continues

Last week the Department of Finance submitted a revised budget proposal that restored the funding for the Home-to-School Transportation program for the 2012-13 fiscal year. This represents positive movement by the Governor to address the concerns voiced by CSEA and the Education Coalition regarding the elimination of funding for school transportation.

As we reported, the Governor signed Senate Bill 81 to restore the mid-year funding cuts for the Home-to-School Transportation program. Instead it applies a reduction of $248 million evenly among all school districts, county offices of education and charter schools.

While the reduction for all districts increased slightly, on average approximately $42 per ADA, spreading the total reduction among all local education agencies is a more equitable method of distributing the reduction than disproportionately impacting those districts that so desperately rely on school buses to transport students to and from school.

CSEA understood that SB 81 does not benefit every district. Unfortunately, in a budget cutting environment we are faced with imperfect choices.

The first option was to accept total elimination of school bus transportation funding, resulting in huge cuts to districts that provide school bus services, complete elimination of school bus services in some districts and a disproportionate cut to those workers who provide and those students who rely upon school bus services.

The second option was a much smaller across the board cut to every school district in the state. Those districts not providing school transportation would absorb a cut, but the cuts would be apportioned equally to every school district. CSEA chose to support this option.

Neither option is good, as both result in cuts. However, from a public policy standpoint CSEA’s position is that an across the board cut that is applied to every school district in the state is more fair than a cut that applies only to school bus services. An across the board cut can be spread among administration, teachers, classified, supplies, or other cost centers. A cut targeting only school transportation unfairly hits only school transportation and primarily classified jobs.

It is important to note, that while the amount of cuts increased. It is still far less than the $180 or more per ADA revenue limit cut that most districts had planned for in anticipation of the trigger being pulled. CSEA chose to support the option that benefited the greatest number of classified employees, protect student transportation services and provided the opportunity to minimize the negative impact of cuts.

Some individual districts may complain about having to take a small additional cut. No matter which position CSEA took, or which option was chosen, there would be winners and losers. This is why CSEA is pushing for increased revenues.

Transportation Funding 2012/2013 Restored … With Strings

Sacramento Bee

February 15, 2012

Gov. Jerry Brown changes route, restores bus money next year

 

Gov. Jerry Brown reversed course this week by restoring $496 million in school bus money in his budget proposal for next fiscal year after facing criticism from education groups.

 

The decision comes after the governor signed legislation Friday that restored bus funding for the remainder of the current school year after districts lost that money in December’s midyear cuts. Brown quietly issued a new education budget plan this week ahead of a Thursday state Senate hearing.

 

Brown’s reversal in 2012-13 comes with some caveats. First, it relies on voters approving his plan to raise income taxes on the wealthy earners, as well as sales taxes by a half cent. It allows districts to spend their bus money on other purposes. And the governor intends to eliminate school transportation earmarks in 2013-14, though districts may receive funding in a new form allowing them to maintain bus service.

 

The governor would pay for school buses next year by devoting less money toward reducing the state’s so-called “wall of debt.” Brown now proposes spending $1.8 billion on reversing past accounting maneuvers that forced districts to borrow or cut, down from $2.4 billion. It’s the first time this year the governor has eased off his plan to devote new dollars to cleaning up balance sheets rather than pay for school programs.

 

Districts have been concerned about a Brown proposal to eliminate education earmarks and provide block grants to districts based on a new “weighted pupil funding formula.” The governor envisioned that the proposal would be phased in over five years, starting with 20 percent of funding next school year. But the governor this week eased that plan by calling for only a 5 percent phase-in and a guarantee that districts would receive the same amount of money next year that they are getting now.

 

It’s not clear that Brown’s changes have appeased districts, some of whom fear they will lose significantly more under the new formula than the old earmarked system. Schools lobbyist Bob Blattner said the tweaks “were necessary, but I still think this is such an enormous change to school funding that it shouldn’t be pushed through in a hurry.”

 

“In the context of school districts still in a cutting mode, this may not be perceived as very helpful,” said Kevin Gordon, a longtime education lobbyist. “He’s trying to make improvements. But what he does is makes it look good on the front end, then in the long run there will be a lot of losers in this proposal.”

February Chapter Meeting Reminder

What happened in Sacramento?

When is the next seminar?

Who is Marianne and what is an OFO?

Please remember that Monday, February 13th, will be our next meeting. The location will be at the ESC in the conference room. Our meeting will begin at 5:15 pm. We will have lots to discuss, and plenty of people to take questions. If there is enough interest concerning CSEA and Sacramento before the meeting ( email here ), then we can spend some special time on that.

Site Reps can start meeting at 4:45 for Q&A, or just for advice and support.

The ESC is located at 4999 Casa Loma Avenue in the city of Yorba Linda.

Map

If you don’t have time to thank them…NOMINATE THEM!!!

We do not have alot of time with this. So, think about the people that you always intend to thank. I will be posting more ideas later, but this is a start.

This from the District:

It’s February 1 so it’s time to nominate the 2012 PYLUSD Employees of the Year!!!!!

Who will they be?????
Is there a colleague who you know goes consistently above and beyond to perform their job?
Don’t miss this chance to get them well deserved recognition.

Attached is the nomination form.

Nominations are due on February 29.  Good luck, everyone!

Rosemary Gladden Public Information Officer

p.s.  Superintendent Smith’s Prize Patrol will make the surprise announcements on March 21.

Nomination Form PYLUSD Employees of the Year ( type in info and send for email with this document )

Nomination Form PYLUSD Employees of the Year  ( print and handwrite for mail, fax or hand delivery with this document )

Lawmakers’ switch preserves school bus funding

The following has selected pieces from SACBEE.COM

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press=

Published: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 – 10:22 am

Last Modified: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 – 1:48 pm

Copyright 2012 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — “Parents and educators said they were relieved Thursday after state lawmakers changed their minds and voted against targeting school bus service in a midyear budget cut to education.

The move alters a $248 million school transportation spending cut lawmakers included in the state budget they passed last summer. The cut was to take effect automatically at the start of the year because tax revenue was running well behind projections, but many school districts objected.”

” ‘I’m so excited,’ Cinnamon Paula said after the vote. Paula, a parent of four, helped organize opposition to the cuts in the Southern Humboldt Unified School District, which covers 700 square miles in far Northern California.

“I think we would have lost a third of our school district,” said Paula, who lives in Redway, about 200 miles north of San Francisco. “They would have had to be home-schooled or left the area because they couldn’t have gotten to school.”

She created a Facebook page focused on the transportation cuts, helped organize a protest trip last month to Sacramento attended by more than 200 parents, children and other North Coast residents, and arranged for opponents to email and telephone the governor’s office every day.”

“The measure would take effect immediately if Brown signs it into law, but it would protect transportation funding only through the rest of the current school year.”

Governor Brown still plans to eliminate the funding, when July 1st starts the new fiscal year!

“Paula remains concerned about Brown’s proposal, and her feelings are shared even in a much different school system.”

Los Angeles Unified School District, which has the highest enrollment in the state, had voted to sue the state when the cut took effect last month. Overcrowding forces the district to bus certain students. The superintendent was planning to make cuts elsewhere, even in the classrooms, in order to maintain transportation services.

“Allan Clark, president of the California School Employees Association, said in a statement that the Legislature’s action was a relief to thousands of students and parents.”

SB81 did not clear with a unanimous vote.

“In the Assembly, some lawmakers representing suburban areas objected or abstained because their districts would lose more money under the funding shift.”

Supporters of the bill concede that some districts will lose some money, but in no way compares to the cost in devastation to students in other districts.

” ‘It all boils down to this: Children cannot learn if they cannot get to school,’ said Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Bob Blumenfield, D-Sherman Oaks, who carried the bill.”

“Before lawmakers agreed to revise the spending cut, some school districts were scrambling to find ways to keep the buses running. Some planned to tap reserves so students would not be stranded.”

One example:

” In Southern Humboldt Unified, which covers 700 square miles in far Northern California, school officials were looking at consolidating bus routes and making elementary schools drop-off points for secondary students, Superintendent Jim Stewart said.”

Palo Verde Unified buses about 20 percent of its 3,500 students, some of them from 45 miles away near the Arizona border.

“Eliminating busing also would severely affect athletic programs because teams travel great distances to games and meets, said Palo Verde Superintendent Bob Bilek, who was interviewed before Thursday’s legislative vote.

“We cannot simply stop busing,” he said.”

Thank you to President Holt and Brady Bailo for staying on top of this and the needs of students throughout the state.

click for complete article

ACTION ALERT ON SB 81 (SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE) – RESTORATION OF THE CURRENT YEAR TRANSPORTATION TRIGGER CUT

CSEA has been working with Legislators and the Governor to develop a solution to restore the mid-year transportation cut. Senate Bill 81 would restore $248 million to fund school transportation by allocating those reductions to revenue limits instead.

Background

Because state revenues came in lower than expected in December, current law imposes an automatic trigger to reduce the funding for school transportation, resulting in a mid-year cut of $248 million. This cut will have a devastating impact on our schools across this state, and will put the safety and lives of public school children at risk. Students may have to walk further to school or may be unable to get to school at all!

So far, many districts are having difficulty in implementing such a reduction because the special education and home-to-school transportation services provided cannot be reduced or eliminated without having an impact on student attendance. In some districts, the cut has prompted layoffs of bus drivers, maintenance workers, and others classified workers to avoid major reduction to student services.

Take Action!

SB 81 is scheduled to be heard in committee on January 31st. We need you to call the members of the Assembly Budget Committee to express your support of SB 81, and to ask for a “YES” vote on this bill. The committee members are listed as follows:

Member	Capitol Office	District Office
Bob Blumenfield,  Chair	(916) 319-2040	(818) 904-3840
Jim Nielsen,  Vice Chair	(916) 319-2002	(530) 223-6300
Luis Alejo	(916) 319-2028	(831) 759-8676
Michael Allen	(916) 319-2007	(707) 546-4500
Bill Berryhill	(916) 319-2026	(209) 473-6972
Susan Bonilla	(916) 319-2011	(925) 521-1511
Julia Brownley	(916) 319-2041	(818) 596-4141
Joan Buchanan	(916) 319-2015	(925) 325-1515
Betsy Butler	(916) 319-2053	(310) 615-3515
Gilbert Cedillo	(916) 319-2045	(323) 225-4545
Wesley Chesbro	(916) 319-2001	(707) 445-7014
Roger Dickinson	(916) 319-2009	(916) 324-4676
Mike Feuer	(916) 319-2042	(310) 285-5490
Richard Gordon	(916) 319-2021	(650) 691-2121
Diane Harkey	(916) 319-2073	(949) 347-7301
Jared Huffman	(916) 319-2006	(415) 479-4920
Kevin Jeffries	(916) 319-2066	(951) 894-1232
Brian Jones	(916) 319-2077	(619) 441-2322
Dan Logue	(916) 319-2003	(530) 895-4217
Allan Mansoor	(916) 319-2068	(714) 668-2100
Holly Mitchell	(916) 319-2047	(310) 342-1070
William Monning	(916) 319-2027	(831) 649-2832
Mike Morrell	(916) 319-2063	(909) 466-9096
Brian Nestande	(916) 319-2064	(760) 647-0164
Sandre Swanson	(916) 319-2016	(510) 286-1670
David G. Valadao	(916) 319-2030	(559) 585-7170
Donald P. Wagner	(916) 319-2070	(949) 863-7070

Please make the following points when you contact the Assembly Committee members. If the trigger cut is not restored it would:

• Put small school children in harm’s way, when they need to cross busy roads, or go through dangerous areas.
• Force some parents to make unthinkable choices between their job and safely getting their children to and from school.
• Dramatically reduce funding for some schools because of a drop in school attendance.
• Increasing traffic congestion on our roads and especially at our schools.
• Stressing our already fragile economy and high unemployment rate by putting thousands of school bus drivers out of work.
• Unfairly punishing low-income families and rural school districts, who depend the most on school buses to get students to class.

If you are a constituent, please let the person who answers the phone know that.

Thank you for making these important calls in support of SB 81.