Dr. Felix has repeatedly blamed LCFF for recent deficits, approved staffing cuts, and threatened our schools “will be decimated” if Prop E does not pass. That argument is a SHAM and CUSD is deceiving the public, attempting to scare residents into voting for yet another property tax increase. Please consider the following facts over the current and past two fiscal years (or check them yourself in Christy White audits and the CUSD website):
ASSERTION: Sacramento’s LCFF is solely to blame for CUSD budget deficits.
REALITY: CUSD deficits are self-inflicted! In 2011-12 (before LCFF), CUSD overspent their revenue by $1,934,738 (6%). In 2012-13, (before LCFF), CUSD again overspent their revenue by $746,240, despite a $3.2M (10%) increase in revenue (with prudent management, they could have banked a $1.3M surplus). Now in 2013-14 (under LCFF), CUSD plans to overspend by $3,319,524 (12.8%)! That’s right, CUSD’s Financial Plan is designed to overspend and ignore their revenue limit. Regardless of LCFF constraints, or the addition of $10 billion to the 2014-15 State School Budget, CUSD will continue their runaway spending habits, fiscal mismanagement and blaming Sacramento.
ASSERTION: CUSD did everything possible to cut spending in 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.
REALITY: Nonsense! CUSD spending in several categories is wasteful and fiscally irresponsible. In a recent 27-month period, CUSD spent $4.1M on Consultants, $2.9M on Computers, $1.7M on Contractors, and $722K on the BBMAC pool complex. March 2014 expenses alone included $338K (56%) for Consultants; $63K (11%) for Travel & Conferences; $59K (10%) for Legal Fees; $53K (9%) for Telephones – that’s 86% of the total! Properly managed with cuts or deferred spending, those six categories could yield multi-million dollar savings.
ASSERTION: Dr. Felix threatens that our schools “will be decimated” if Prop E does not pass.
REALITY: Prop E is completely unnecessary, a massive “cash grab” at 12 times the deficit stated by CUSD! And the $29M revenue for CUSD will likely cost taxpayers $60M+ to repay bond principal and interest. If there is a projected deficit in a given year, it can be managed with a combination of spending cuts, prioritization, deferred spending and use of CUSD’s 3% reserve funds. Prudent and proactive fiscal management is obligatory for most families, corporations and government agencies; it will not “decimate” our school system.
ASSERTION: CUSD is convinced additional Classified employees must be given layoff notices now.
REALITY: Not so, and this is simply a threat to taxpayers to pass Prop E, or else! CUSD has averaged a $320K annual loss on the pool complex. According to CUSD, their current BBMAC Marketing Plan should eliminate those losses, and recouping that revenue alone would probably fund five to seven Classified positions. Other positions could readily be funded after spending cuts, prioritization, deferred spending and use of CUSD reserve funds.
The sky is NOT falling, and our school systems will NOT be decimated when Prop E is rejected. But it will require some guts, hard work and actual management on the part of the Governing Board and Administrators to (1) stop “demonizing Prop E opponents; (2) stop thinking of taxpayers as your “Alternative Funding Source”; (3) stop considering school bonds as your “Bridge Loans”; and (4) stop intentional overspending. Then CUSD can embrace prudent fiscal management as the core operating policy now and in the future.
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