The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board held its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. The Board had already approved budget cuts to Certified personnel (Teachers), Classified personnel (Instructional Assistants, Library Clerks, etc.), and would conclude the third major round of cuts by approving program cuts and cuts to the District office staff. Many District employees were present. FUTA President and Teacher Theresa Marvel, CSEA Executive Board Member Sheila Duckett, and CSEA Member Luanne Brock made carefully planned presentations on the budget reductions. Board President John Garnica consistently stretched protocol to allow for comments when requested by the audience. At one point, Marvel started to ask detailed questions regarding FUSD’s monthly list of purchases and accounts payable, and was told that she was out of order, but the Board explained that Board Clerk Liz Wilde goes over that list with Assistant Superintendent Mike Bush each month.

Brock thanked Board Member Tony Prado for asking questions and requesting budget-cutting options from the District Office staff. He had been overruled by other Board Members and never received any options. Brock mentioned the Board’s refusal to take questions from the audience at last week’s Budget Study Session, and thanked Garnica for taking questions after he arrived. She said, “Denying the audience an opportunity to ask questions or provide input during a study session is not in the best interests of the public that you serve.” She quoted a School Services article on the current financial crisis, saying, “People will remember how they were treated during this difficult time.”

The Board approved Superintendent Jeff Sweeney’s recommended cuts. His list had been shortened from last week’s list because the Board had approved the recommended Classified personnel cuts last week. This week’s recommendations amounted to $960,400, and included two District Office vacancies that will not be filled (Director of Technology at $119, 405 and Clerical at $26,000), several Tier 3 programs that California is allowing districts to redistribute money from, savings due to employees who took early retirement ($96,000), and the Superintendent’s budget ($30,000). The district will save $157,000 by deferring maintenance, almost $50,000 by suspending the Art/Music Grant which provides instruments and assemblies for students, almost $40,000 by suspending community tutoring for parents, and $100,000 in textbook funds. Sweeney emphasized that with these cuts and the additional proposed District Office cuts, FUSD would almost close the $1.73 million gap in the budget. He said that the Board should approve his and his staff’s recommendations so that his staff could proceed with the budget-writing process next week.

Marvel submitted a written budget-cutting proposal to the Board detailing how District Administration could be reduced. FUSD currently has 1 Superintendent, 3 Assistant Superintendents (Business Services, Educational Services, and Human Resources/Student Support), 5 Directors (Special Projects, Budgeting/Accounting, Child Nutrition, Facilities/Construction, and Technology), and 1 Coordinator (Special Ed.). Marvel suggested reducing the administration to 1 Superintendent, 2 Directors (Fiscal/Operational Services and Educational Services), 4 Coordinators (Facilities, Nutrition, Special Ed., and Special Projects), and 2 Teachers on leave who could cover Grant Writing and Curriculum. She further recommended that administrators’ work years be reduced from 223 days to 210 days. She backed-up her proposal with charts showing how other school districts’ administrations compared to FUSD’s. FUSD has 3,800 average daily attendance (ADA). Oak Park Unified, with 3,680 ADA, has 2 Assistant Superintendents, 5 Directors, and no Coordinators. Dinuba Unified in Tulare County, with 5,300 ADA, has 1 Assistant Superintendent, 1 Chief Business Officer, 5 Directors, and no Coordinators. Moorpark Unified, with 7,686 ADA, has 3 Assistant Superintendents, 6 Directors, and 1 Coordinator. Marvel included in her report information from Ventura Unified, Carpinteria Unified, and Ojai Unified. Marvel was unable to provide an analysis of how much money her cuts would save because District staff has not complied with her request for staff salary information.

The Board passed a Resolution Regarding Management/Confidential/Supervisory Layoffs and Reductions. The Accounting Supervisor position will be abolished and replaced by an Attendance Accounting Specialist, who will help FUSD transition from a long-obsolete attendance and accounting system to Zangle. The change will save $7,000. Another $14,000 will be saved by removing 3 workdays from all administrative positions. Most will be reduced from 223 to 220, but some will go from 260 to 257. Director of Special Projects will lose an additional 15 days, and go from 213 to 195.

Sheila Duckett contrasted those reductions with reductions to classified staff. Almost all administrators are losing only 24 hours of work per year, but the San Cayetano Computer Lab Instructional Assistant is losing 180 hours per year, the San Cayetano Library Clerk is losing 364 hours per year, and the Fillmore Middle School Library Clerk is losing 810 hours per year. In consequence, the Computer Lab will be open 4 days per week instead of 5, and San Cayetano’s Library could be closed 1 ½ hours earlier every day. Duckett noted these cuts are “close to the students and will have an impact on their education,” unlike District office cuts which she said “are as far from the students as you can get and will have little or no impact on their education.” She asked the Board, “Did you ask District office staff tough questions before you made the decision to accept only their recommendations?”

The Board deemed its April 28th Budget Study Session unnecessary and cancelled it. The Board proclaimed May 11th – May 15th Staff Appreciation Week.

Uncertainties at the State budget level are still impacting FUSD’s planning process. FUSD expects to receive at least $1.1 million in restricted funds from Title I allocations and funds restricted to special ed, but cannot count on the money both because it is restricted and its arrival date is unknown. The federal stimulus bill, May’s election, and the Governor’s latest proposed revision to the State budget could have unpredicted consequences.

The Board is still negotiating with both employee unions: FUTA and CSEA. Cutting one day of work for almost all employees and voluntarily temporarily suspending a long-ago carefully negotiated 1% raise for the teachers are under consideration. The Board also hopes that City Hall will pay a greater share for the School Resource Officer, but the City has not yet started its budget process.

FUSD is struggling with finances to try to provide summer school this year, and expects to have a bare-bones program mostly funded with migrant money.

Sweeney announced that the Reconfiguration Committee’s community survey results are in and will be presented at the May 19th Board Meeting.

Bush provided a detailed facilities update. FUSD has made many improvements recently, and is planning more. Improvements include installing a competition discus ring at FHS, adding electrical outlets to the FHS track, installing energy miser controls on FHS vending machines and FMS beverage machines, a new baseball scoreboard, replacing FHS gym and cafeteria windows, installing a pedestrian gate at the north end of the FMS campus, a new safety fence at San Cayetano, repairing water leaks, and new fiber-optic wiring funded by E-rate at Piru Elementary.

The Board approved an Alternative Payment Agreement for Elite Dance Studios’ use of the School District Theater. The organization will provide $7,650 worth of improvements to the Theater, including renovations to lighting, riggings, and paint. The usual usage fee would be less than $5000.

Director of Facilities Bob Sube received a grant to replace sand and wood chips under playground equipment with recycled tire chips. The chips are shaped to lock together, will not compact or decompose, will be softer than the older materials, and come in a choice of colors.

Student Representative Garrett Reilley announced the formation of a new club at Fillmore High School: the Go Green Club, which will promote eco-friendly behavior. He described student attitudes towards end-of-year standardized testing as positive and willing to try hard. He noted that Grad Nite Live fundraisers are doing well, including the recent yard sale and ongoing Cookie Lee jewelry sales.