Posted Tuesday December 13, 2011– 3:00pm

The BHUSD received good news today as Governor Jerry Brown announced mid year cuts won’t be drastically affecting the state’s K-12 education. According to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Alex Cherniss, the district will be seeing a $10 to $11 dollar cut per student or approximately $45,000 to $50,000 effective Feb. 1. Cherniss told the board at their Nov. 22 meeting they needed to prepare for midyear cuts of up to $600,000 or $189 per pupil.

“We are extremely pleased at the level of reduction in comparison to what we were preparing for,” Cherniss said. “In public education we hope for the best but prepare for the worst. In this case the district was preparing for mid year cuts of up to $600,000. The governor’s budget today represents a substantially lower mid year reduction in per pupil funding.”

The $45,000 to $50,000 cut for the BHUSD is a part of the $79.6 million cut to public K-12 education statewide. The BHUSD already took an approximately $3 million fair share reduction this year, $1 million more than the 2010/2011 year.

Last week Cherniss said he received the 2011/2012 First Principal Taxes Report from LACOE, which includes preliminary property tax revenue projections for the upcoming year. The projections reflect an additional 2.5 percent, or $750,000, over what the BHUSD originally budgeted. The 2011/2012 Second Principal Taxes Report will be produced in April.

“The recent tax news coupled with this encouraging news from the governor puts us in a healthier position moving forward,” Cherniss said. “However, we still need to remain cautious and vigilant in reducing expenditures.”

Board President Brian Goldberg said while he is relieved that the drastic cuts predicted by the governor aren’t happening this time, the BHUSD will still see a reduction in the “limited funding” it receives from the state. Over the last few years the BHUSD has had to cut nearly $4 million in state funds.

“Hope is not a strategy but neither is fear,” Goldberg said. “We have worked hard to base our decisions on facts and doing our homework. California will never solve our long-term financial crisis on the backs of our students. California has gone from being one of the highest funding per student states to one of the lowest funding per student. Education is clearly not a top priority for this state and it should be.”

Copyright © 2011 Beverly Hills Courier

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