The following information addresses some of the most frequently asked questions that the district receives. We will continue to update this page throughout the year.
Q. Why do I keep hearing about the district’s ending fund balance?
A. There has been much talk about the district’s $65 million ending fund balance. Of the $65 million, $10 million cannot be touched due to the legal requirement to set aside funds as a reserve. The remaining $55 million is saving jobs. Without the ending fund balance we would be facing far deeper personnel cuts in 2012-2013. After half of this one time money is spent on jobs for the 2012-2013 school year, the remaining amount will help mitigate the cuts needed in 2013-2014 should the November tax initiatives fail. For context, please note that the cost of payroll for the district for one month is $25 million.
Q. What cuts has EGUSD made in the past four years?
A. Over the past four years EGUSD has made $110 million in cuts and eliminated over 650 positions. The cuts have included employee concessions, reductions to professional learning, instructional coaches, teachers, administrators, library technicians, administrative assistants, maintenance, operations and food services managers, paraprofessionals, athletics, district office personnel and supplies and services. See chart
Q. Have the budget cuts meant higher class sizes?
A. EGUSD continues to maintain some of the lowest class sizes in the region. See chart.
In 2010-2011, class sizes in grades K-3 rose in non-Title 1 schools to 24:1 and to 22:1 in Title 1 schools. Class sizes in grades 4-6 rose to 28:1 in non-Title 1 schools and 26:1 in Title 1 schools.
An overview of the projected 2012-2013 certificated staffing is as follows:
- Staffing ratios in 7-12 will remain the same as this year
- Counselors will remain at the current staffing level (66 FTE)
- Librarians will remain at the current staffing level (19 FTE)
- Class sizes in K-3 will be 28:1
- Class sizes in 4-6 will be 26:1
- Computer resource teachers will remain in place
Q. Did EGUSD have to make cuts in 2011-2012?
A. Yes. Following the final state budget, EGUSD restored over 446 certificated positions that had been reduced for the 2011-2012 school year. EGUSD was one of the only districts in the state to restore all teachers for 2011-2012.
However, rising costs and an ongoing deficit meant that the district had to reduce its budget by $8 million. As a result of these cuts, 96.28 full time equivalent (FTE) classified and management positions were eliminated.
Q. Did EGUSD layoff any teachers for 2011-2012?
A. No. EGUSD restored over 446 teachers last summer. EGUSD was one of few districts to restore all teachers for 2011-2012.
Q. Did EGUSD have to make mid-year cuts for 2011-2012?
A. No. Based on the state’s mid-year trigger cuts, EGUSD’s budget was reduced by $800,000 or $13 per student. The mid-year cuts also include a $43.50 per ADA cut to school districts’ state transportation revenue allocation which is a $2.5 million reduction for EGUSD. Despite these cuts, EGUSD did not reduce staff, shorten the school year or reduce student transportation service below current levels for the 2011-2012 school year. Budgeted funds were reallocated to address mid-year cuts.
Q. How many positions will EGUSD have to cut for 2012-2013?
A. In order to address the district’s structural deficit for 2012-2013, EGUSD is reducing 34 certificated positions. The number of reductions was not greater due to a negotiated agreement between the District and EGEA and the attrition of positions through voluntary retirements, etc.
Q. Will EGUSD employees continue to experience furlough days and salary rollbacks in 2012-2013?
A. On July 1, 2012, all employee concessions are reversed: salary rollbacks, furloughs and step/column movement as defined by negotiated agreements.
Q. Why is EGUSD asking employees to contribute to their health care?
A. The rising costs of health care is a significant ongoing and compounding issue that must be addressed in EGUSD. The district currently pays 100% of the total cost of employee and family health care insurance (including dental and vision) premiums for all eligible employees who select the plan which is currently provided by Kaiser Permanente. For employees and their families who select Health Net, employees pick up the difference in cost between Kaiser and Health Net.
For Elk Grove Unified, the rising cost of employee and family health care premiums has meant that over the past nine years, the district’s cost for covering medical benefits alone has increased by almost 200 percent (197.92%).
EGUSD spends over $61 million annually on medical, dental and vision for employees and families.
Q. What cuts has administration taken?
A. EGUSD has always been committed to operating a flat organization with very lean administrative support. EGUSD has reduced its administration by 27 percent in the past five years. The annual savings for salary and benefits from these reductions is $4.4 million.
A 2011 School Services of California report demonstrated that out of 20 comparable districts in California, EGUSD had the lowest number of administrators per student expenditures. See chart
Like all employee groups, administrators have had their salaries reduced through concessions. These have included a total of 20 furlough days over three years, salary rollbacks and giving up annual lottery checks.
Q. Why does the district give layoff notices in March?
A. School districts in California are required by law to notify certificated staff, which includes teachers, of possible layoff by March 15 of every year. In EGUSD it has been the practice of both the district and labor associations to notice classified staff at the same time. Due to the state’s budget process, school districts must make this determination of possible layoffs based on the most current state budget information available.
Q. If the district does decide to issue certificated layoff notices, why does the district notice more people than the positions that may possibly be cut?
A. Once a school district identifies the certificated services to be reduced or eliminated, the district is required by state law to use employee seniority dates and credentials to determine the order of termination. The number of notices usually exceeds the number of positions identified for possible reduction or elimination due to: the large number of part-time employees (“Partial FTE’s”), the large numbers of employees with the same seniority date, and employee “bumping” rights.
Q. I keep hearing about one-time dollars. What are these?
A. One-time dollars means a non-reoccurring revenue source that comes into the district once. Such dollars are NOT available on an ongoing basis for future years. One-time dollars can take several forms such as grants, stimulus money and other federal funds. Reserves and employee concessions are other forms of one-time dollars. One-time dollars do not offer a sustainable funding source for positions and programs that need to be supported in future years.
Q. What is a budget certification?
A. The State of California has an early warning system designed to detect which school districts are in danger of failing to meet their financial obligations. School districts are required to submit three-year budgets to their County Office of Education on a regular basis throughout the fiscal year. Based on these interim status reports, County Offices of Education approve budgets and certify such budgets as either positive, qualified or negative.
a. A positive certification is assigned when the district will meet its financial obligations for the current and two subsequent fiscal years.
b. A qualified certification is assigned when the district may not meet its financial obligations for the current or two subsequent fiscal years.
c. A negative certification is assigned when a district will be unable to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current year or for the subsequent fiscal year.
In 2006-07, there were only three districts on the negative certification list and 19 on the qualified list. As of May, 2011 there are 13 districts on the negative certification list and 124 districts in California with a qualified certification status, according to the California Fiscal Management and Intervention Team (FCMAT).
Q. Is the district facing a “negative” budget?
A. Currently and when we adopt the 2012-13 budget in June 2012, the district’s budget status is/will be designated as “qualified.” Should the Governor’s November ballot tax measure fail and if the district is unable to successfully negotiate board adopted budget cuts for the 2013-2014 school year, the district’s multi-year budget status will be certified as “negative” at 2nd Interim in March of 2013.
EGUSD’s History of Interim Certifications
Q. What happens if the district’s budget is determined to be “negative?”
A. When a county office of education receives a negative budget certification from a school district, they appoint a Fiscal Advisor. This is done when a district is unable to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current year or for the subsequent fiscal year. The assigned Fiscal Advisor reviews and recommends changes to the district’s proposed expenditures until the district no longer has a negative budget certification. Should the efforts of the Fiscal Advisor not remove the negative budget certification from the district, it may be subject to being taken over by the state and assigned a Trustee to manage the finances of the district. The Trustee develops a financial plan to remove the district from its negative status.
Q. What happened to the federal jobs bill money that the district received?
A. EGUSD received an $11.8 million Federal Jobs Bill allocation in 2010-2011. With the receipt of the initial portion of the Federal Jobs Bill allocation of $10.6 million, consistent with each of its collectively bargained agreements, EGUSD negotiated with each of the certificated and classified bargaining groups regarding this one time money. Through negotiations, $5.3 million of the federal jobs bill was divided among employee groups and made available to employees in a one-time check. The Board of Education, superintendent and associate superintendents did not receive any of these funds.
Q. I heard that the superintendent and cabinet received pay raises. Can you tell me if that is true?
A. All EGUSD employees who were eligible, based on their contract agreements for a salary step increase in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, received a step salary increase. That includes teachers, counselors, librarians, school secretaries, school psychologists, the superintendent, associate superintendents, administrative assistants and classified and certificated managers. Any employee who received step increases also had a salary rollback as part of a package of concessions that they agreed upon.
The increased 2011-12 cost of step salary increases related to the unrestricted general fund for all employees is $3.5 million. The teacher’s association portion of those step increases is $3.1 million.
The superintendent and associate superintendent’s contracts were not changed. Based on contract agreements, the superintendent and associate superintendents are eligible for five step increases. Each step is 3.5 percent. Teachers are eligible for 19 steps with their step movement ranging from 0 to 6.2 percent.
On January 26, 2011, the Sacramento Bee posted a story and database that demonstrates that while EGUSD is the 5th largest district in the state with over 62,000 students, the EGUSD superintendent’s salary ranks 16th, without including the superintendent’s salary reduction and furlough days. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/26/995141/see-how-well-your-school-district.html
Q. I heard that the superintendent gave up future step salary increases. Is that true?
A. Yes. The superintendent voluntarily made the personal decision to forgo steps 4 and 5 of his contract agreement. Beginning on July 1, 2012, the superintendent’s salary will remain frozen on step 3.
Q. Is the district considering the closure or consolidation of any schools?
A. No. Unlike other school districts in the region, EGUSD has only recently seen a decline in enrollment. In addition, the district does not have the capacity in its current facilities to either close or consolidate schools. However, the district has looked at facilities use in terms of moving schools from a more costly year-round schedule to a traditional or modified traditional schedule when a school has capacity. In the past two years , the district has moved 16 elementary schools to a traditional or modified traditional schedule for a total savings of $3.8 million.
Q. I am angry with our state of public education funding. What can I do to get involved?
A. The State of California currently funds public education at one of the lowest levels in the U.S. To find out how to contact your representatives visit http://blogs.egusd.net/budget/take-action/contact-legislatures/.
