Budget Update: Gov. Announces Plan for 10-11

Governor Schwarzenegger released his draft budget Friday, Jan.8, providing additional detail about K-12 education funding for the next budget year. We were pleased to see that the Governor’s proposal does protect education from draconian cuts needed to solve California’s significant deficit. But there are still steep cuts in store for K-12 education in the proposed budget that will add to the challenges faced by San Diego Unified as we prepare our budget for the 2010/11 school year.

Our staff’s very preliminary analysis of the Governor’s budget concludes that statewide, the total reduction in funding to Proposition 98 for K-12 education is close to $2.4 billion. San Diego Unified’s share of these state cuts for the 2010-11 fiscal year could be $25 to $35 million. Our staff will be working over the next week to analyze the budget proposal in greater detail and prepare more specific estimates for the Board of Education. It is important to note that this projection is subject to action by the state legislature which could significantly change education funding in the final budget.

San Diego Unified already faces a projected deficit for 2010/11 of approximately $64 million. These additional state budget cuts would take the total projected deficit to a range of $89 to $99 million. The Board of Education is currently working with district staff to develop budget priorities that will be used in the budget process. Parents, employees and the public are encouraged to continue to submit their comments to the Board and attend board meetings to provide their input. For more information, please read the Summary of Governor’s Proposed 2010-11 Budget.