School District’s Revenue Brutally Slashed

Unfortunately this worldwide economic recession has hurt California more than most states. The result has been an extraordinary negative impact on K-12 education funding. State revenues for the Coronado Unified School District have been brutally slashed. To keep our district fiscally solvent, we have made drastic spending reductions resulting in deep cuts to personnel and programs. These strategies have allowed us to minimize class size increases through the retention of teaching positions, maintain programs for students, and retain many support staff positions. During this time we have continued to increase learning opportunities and academic achievement. However, the expectation of increasing or even maintaining our current high level of services has come to an end. Because California continues to underfund our schools, we anticipate a budget shortfall of approximately $1.5 million for the 2010-11 school year. Sadly, we must once again make harsh reductions to survive, because it is likely that we will not return to the 2007 revenue levels until 2015. There is no question that our District is now faced with making tough and unpopular decisions. No longer can we be expected to do more with less. The public and the state legislature are accustomed to school districts doing not only what we did before with fewer resources, but more; or at the very least, continuing to do it better. We have reached our limit and the well of impossible possibilities has run dry. We must confront these bleak realities now as our resources continue to plummet. Preserving a strong educational program with our shrinking resources continues to be the first commitment of the Governing Board of Education. I know our entire staff will continue to provide the best education possible for students within these constraints. We will keep you updated as we learn more from the state and as options are explored to close the budget gap.