PUSD Superintendent Don Phillips discussed the impact of the unprecedented funding cuts that Governor Davis is proposing for public schools at the February 18, 2003, Board of Education meeting. The Governor is proposing $4 billion cuts for schools throughout the state.

"We still do not have the budget adjustments for this year from the State and therefore need to continue to plan for the worst-case scenario, which we believe would be $14.5 million in reductions for the 2003-04 school year," said Phillips. "This number is staggering."

The Superintendent is meeting with both his Core and Kitchen Cabinets to identify potential budget cuts. Primary to the discussions is looking to minimize the impact on the educational program and student learning, and trying to minimize the number of lay-offs needed. However, Phillips said the magnitude of the cuts is so great, everything is on the table and nothing can be considered sacred. The Kitchen Cabinet consists of business and community members, a PTA representative, employee union representatives, principals, and administrators.

The extent of a reduction of $14.5 million to the $228 million Poway Unified School District budget could be compared to closing down four elementary schools, letting all the staff go, and moving the students from those schools into the remaining elementary schools (this is not an option being considered).

Don Phillips said the District has contacted state legislators to ask for flexibility in allowing PUSD to use the remaining state dollars without strings attached to specific programs. For example, at the present time the state requires the class size reduction program to have a maximum of 20 students per class in grades K-3. The Superintendent is asking for the option to have class sizes of up to 22 students as long as the average remained 20 for all K-3 classes.

"The District has already made $5 million in reductions in response to the Governor's mid-year cuts at this time last year. These cuts included the elimination of two area superintendent positions at the senior Cabinet level; a 25% reduction," said Phillips. "We made those cuts at the district level, and as much as possible protected the school sites. Anticipating this year's mid-year cuts we have frozen positions, restricted overtime, put a hold on non-essential expenditures, and curtailed travel. We are looking at all our support services, but cuts of this magnitude will also impact the classrooms directly.

"The cuts we are contemplating would cut too deeply into our core education program, We will continue to push at the state level for adequate funding," said Don Phillips.

The following is the listing of possible reductions and cuts that Superintendent Phillips discussed with the Board of Education on February 18:

District Office Level (Initial Areas of Review) Target of $3 million ($5 million has already been reduced at this level)

• Review and reduce management, support staff, and budgets in the Learning Support Services department
• Reduce assessment costs
• Find Special Education savings

• Review and reduce Business Support Services management, support staff, and budgets in Finance, Risk Management, Planning, Purchasing/Warehouse, and Maintenance & Operations departments.
• Eliminate encroachment in Transportation
• Eliminate encroachment in Publications

• Review and reduce Personnel Support Services management, support staff, and budgets
  • Set maximum number of hours for all overtime (site and district)
  • Eliminate encroachment for the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Program and the Poway Professional Assistance Program (PPAP)
  • Eliminate staff longevity, perfect attendance, and tenure tea recognition events
• Review and reduce Educational Technology Information Services
• Reduce travel, conferences, meetings

• School Site Level (Initial Areas of Review) Target (total) of $9 million (elementary school level - $3.1 million; middle school level - $2.25 million; high school level - $3.6 million)
  • Concept II Kindergarten (overlapping kindergarten classes)
  • Grade 3 Class Size Reduction
  • Fifth Grade Band
  • Increase class size in grades 4-12
  • Sports
  • Extracurricular
  • Personnel staffing reductions
  • Reduction in support staff (counseling, administration, attendance, TOSAs [Teachers On Special Assignment], security, technology, testing and assessment, library, health, guidance, Partners in Education)
  • Reduce Reading Specialists
  • Reduce custodial time
  • Reduce clerical support
  • Consolidate Local Area Network operations (technology)
  • Reduce before and after school programs K-8
  • Reduce or eliminate site data assistants
  • Reduce instructional aide time
  • Ninth Grade Class Size Reduction
  • Review 6 ½ periods at high school
  • Eliminate sixth grade camp encroachment
  • Consolidate summer school
  • Reduce administrative release time

Also discussed was reviewing the school site carryover budgets (Target: of $2 million); salary and benefit reductions and concessions, and income enhancement from foundations and grants, facility use fees, parcel tax, and increased student attendance.

"If you ask whether we will have to make all of these reductions, I would say, probably not. However, given what we currently know from the State, I believe we will need to make the majority of these reductions or find other areas to cut," Don Phillips said. "The magnitude of these reductions dwarfs anything I have experienced in my more than 20-year career in California."

Archived Letters from the Superintendent