The budget for the state of California is usually enacted in the beginning of July. That was two months ago.
Now, things are getting a little sticky for government agencies across the county, for agencies that are counting on that money. Imagine working hard and then not getting paid for two months in a row. That’s the reality for some groups in the county.
Fortunately for the parents and students who have been preparing for a return to classes, the elementary and high school districts and Allan Hancock College were, for the most part, prepared for this budget crisis. It helped that school districts have had plenty of practice, said Maggie White, spokesperson for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.
This isn’t the first time that schools have had to deal with cutbacks. Gauging the governor’s May revision, local school boards figured out early on that there would be major cutbacks again in this year’s budget—and they adjusted accordingly.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District has already cut $2 million from their budget, said Superintendent Jeff Hearn.
“We feel like, when the budget is passed, we’re in pretty good shape,” he said.
At the elementary level, White said the disrict was prepared for the new school year.
“In terms of cash flow, our district is fine,” White said.
Being fine, however, doesn’t mean that schools are doing great financially. There was, after all, $2 million cut from the high school budget, and Hearn said that the district had to reduce the money sent to school sites from $90 per student per year to $80. The $100,000 that each high school normally gets for athletic programs shrank to $90,000. Once the state budget is approved, though, Hearn said that the schools will be compensated for the difference.
He explained that the district is operating on borrowed money right now, the same as it always does at the beginning of the school year. But if the budget takes too long to go through, that could create a problem for the district, forcing them to pay more interest than they normally would.
“If we don’t have a budget by the first part of October, we’ll have to look at what we’re going to do long term,” Hearn said.
At Allan Hancock College, school is in session and things are going great for now, said Rob Parisi, director of financial aid. But if the budget impasse goes on much longer, he said that students getting Cal Grants from the state will begin to feel the strain.
Right now, about 450 of the neediest students attending Hancock College receive Cal Grants, and will be affected if the budget isn’t passed soon. Those students have Federal Pell Grants to tide them over for now, Parisi said. Normally they would also receive Cal Grants at the end of September.
If the financial aid department doesn’t receive funds from the state, those students will be stuck mid-term with no funds, Parisi said.
The Financial Aid Department will also feel the strain. The department receives $300,000 a year from the state to help with outreach and other programs. That money should have been here by now, Parisi said. Instead, his department is operating on reserves held by Hancock College.
“By the end of September, the school will be out of reserves,” he said.
After preparing for a series of cuts in the budget this year, local schools now have to wait, and it could be days, weeks, or months. Only the men and women in Sacramento might know how much longer it’s going to take.
Contact Sports Editor Sarah E. Thien at sthien@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 11-18, 2008.