After 2 months and 1 "all-nighter" we have a State budget, which given the 5-month budget cycle should last until the end of October or December (depending upon how you do the math). The budget was built on the tax revenues and projections from last March and April (and the state has failed to meet its projections for May, June, and predictably July).
It is somewhat amusing that 1 month after the 08-09 budget year is finished, Sacramento has figured out how to reduce another $1.6 billion from last year (08-09) -- don't try this at home. That was a achieved with lots of maneuvering and trades between this year and last. Also of interest (though we are not directly effected), QEIA funds, which were the settlement of a CTA lawsuit against the Governor and the state are now going to be paid with federal stimulus money. As of this writing, our Class Size Reduction program is negatively effected by the State budget adoption, though we do have relief with our instructional materials adoption and expenditures. We also have the flexibility statewide to reduce the school year for our students by up to 5 days. I find it curious that CAHSEE testing has been dropped for Special Education students. Everyone seems to be out seeking "clarification" about what was said or intended with this "budget" -- but hey we have a budget.
The immediate impact to us in RUSD appears, according to Mike Fine, to be another $14 million reduction. Given the potential of using the entirety of our "stimulus" fund we are left with an unsolved reduction of approximately $5 million. For more detailed information there is a post on the CASBO site.
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