PVUSD > Budget Crisis

Pajaro Valley Unified School District will be holding meetings to discuss the budget crisis that the district is currently facing. This is an opportunity for the public to hear facts about how the State budget is negatively impacting the District.  In addition, the community will have the opportunity to provide staff with input regarding the budget and future reductions

Now that the propositions on the May 19 Special Election ballot have been defeated and the State of California has an enormous budget deficit that must be resolved, the question in the minds of many people in the education community is WHAT’S NEXT ???

We have, unfortunately, had confirmation from both Barney Finley, the Associate Superintendent of Business from the County Office of Education, and Senator Simitian, that the State budget is continuing to progress into a deeper deficit. Both individuals expressed caution about how much money districts would actually receive from the Federal Stimulus Funds. They also both encouraged districts to expend any of the federal moneys with extreme caution, since they are one time monies.

Here is the latest update that I have regarding the State budget. The "rumor" that the State budget deficit has increased was confirmed this week by the State Legislative Analyst. The immediate concern that raises for our district is how the increased State deficit will affect the dollars coming to us from the Federal Fiscal Stability Plan.

I will be continuing to give updates on the budget situation because even though the Board approved a budget that will meet the County Office requirements, there are many variables still to come. We will be waiting on the following: The May Revise. We're hearing that the State deficit has already increased and that there may be additional reductions made to school district budgets.

At the Board meeting, on January 28th, the budget was on the agenda for discussion and will be on the next two meeting agendas in February.  As part of the discussion, an updated list of potential reductions was presented as part of the study and discussion for the Board and I want to clarify what the list was and was not.

Over the next few weeks, there will be many proposals, rumors and information coming out of Sacramento and even from within the district, that may not be accurate.  Given how serious the situation is and realizing how important accurate information is, Mary Hart, the Associate Superintendent of Business, and I will be sending out regular communication to all employees on Fridays to update everyone with any new information from the State and any updates from the District.