Flickr photo by Woodley Wonderworks
If creating budgets is like a battle, then the state's education department may have just used fiscal transparency to throw a solid left-right jab at the state Assembly.
On Tuesday, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell released the latest lists of schools whose financial woes are so severe that they are at risk of not paying their bills.
The results, which can be seen here, are jaw-dropping. Fourteen school districts, from Hayward Unified in Alameda County to Lynwood in Los Angeles, won't be able to meet their financial obligations this school year or next – a 38 percent increase from April alone, according to the state's data. And a whopping 160 more are dangerously near being in the same condition.
In 2006-07, there were only three districts on the "negative certification" list – at risk of not paying their bills. And 19 districts were on the "qualified certification" watch list – with finances bad enough to be concerned, according to the Department of Education.
O'Connell said in an statement:
Schools on this list are now forced to make terrible decisions to cut programs and services that students need or face bankruptcy. This trend will worsen if the Governor’s proposed cuts to public education are enacted in the 2010-11 budget. I have grave concerns that more and more school districts will face financial crisis unless state lawmakers find solutions to the state budget crisis and provide adequate funding for our schools.
No one can ever accuse O'Connell of resting on his laurels. Just last week, the state finally got a break after federal authorities committed $416 million in education aid. But that money is only for the 188 schools identified as "persistently low-performing."
Meanwhile, more than 20,000 teachers have received pink slips this year. Summer school has been eliminated, class sizes are increasing, and art, music, libraries, school nurses, busing, and sports programs have been cut. The fiscal watch list, currently representing 16 percent of the state's 1,077 schools, is growing while lawmakers ponder still additional budget cuts to a reeling system.
O'Connell clearly has had enough.
These statistics illustrate what a dire situation our schools are in. Even the infusion of billions of federal stimulus funds last year was not enough to stem the rising tide of financial woes for school districts around the state. I am very grateful to the Obama administration for providing California funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but it is critical that Californians understand that our schools will face another wave of economic woe at the end of this year when the federal stimulus funding is exhausted.
How the legislature responds remains to be seen. But given the current mood of the state and the nation, expect any actions or inactions to be remembered in November.
Comments
via Twitter