|
In the face of severe cuts, the school advisory board passed a reduced budget bolstered by funds raised by parent and alumni associations. Despite protests that the cuts may be unfair to the school, the district decided not to make adjustments to the budget allocation.
The School Site Council approved a draft of the school budget, which has been reduced by roughly 10 percent from this year. “I feel relieved that the SSC passed the budget when our budget is the worst since the passing of Proposition 13 (in 1978),” Principal Andy Ishibashi said. “But while I’m pleased with SSC for passing the budget, I feel a lot of pain for the many teachers I have to notify concerning consolidation and cutting.”
The budget details the cuts of 14 classroom positions, one counselor, part of the librarians’ and nurse’s hours, the theater tech position, the info systems administrator, one clerk and the Advanced Placement Testing Coordinator. The cuts will lead to an increase in average class size from 28 students to 34 students in each classroom.
Lowell Alumni Association executive director Terence Abad and Parent Teacher Student Association president Debbie Gee Wong met with two deputy superintendents to discuss inequalities they saw in the district budget for the school on April 20. One of the main issues included the adjustment to the Advanced Placement funding formula, which has led to a loss of $1.2 million over the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. The district representatives were not able to offer any immediate change to the allocation at the meeting.
Abad and Wong also believe the district has underestimated next year’s enrollment by 100 students, the equivalent of $330,000 in Weighted Student Formula funds. The district representatives agreed to take another look at the estimated enrollment numbers, and if they agree that the estimate is too low it could be adjusted, according to Abad.
The negotiations between the district and United Educators of San Francisco have reached an impasse, and will now involve a state mediator. The negotiations concern the number of the 800 pink slips sent out that the district will be able to rescind. The district is also feeling the strain of the situation, according to Commissioner Norman Yee. “It is safe to say all sides are a little frustrated with the negotiations,” he said.
According to union building co-representative and science teacher Kathy Melvin, the union has asked its members to abstain from approving SSC budgets on the grounds that the district is not acting fairly. “The union is upset with the district because the district is not being transparent,” Melvin said. “The district claims the union is stalling talks, but they are not cutting where they could cut and are not showing where they are cutting.”
Though the SSC approved the budget, the members are not pleased with the situation, according to math department head and SSC chair Tom Chambers. “It’s not a satisfactory budget, but the numbers add up,” Chambers said. “We did the best we could with what we had.”
Abad agreed. “Mr. Ishibashi has done as good a job as can be done to put together a reasonable budget, but it leaves important programs unfunded,” he said. The $600,000 raised by the PTSA and LAA provided some relief in teacher positions, but some positions will still be cut.
At the April 8 meeting, the LAA Executive Board voted to earmark the $300,000 for a 1.0 full time equivalent of a teaching position for World Languages, 0.4 FTE for English, 0.4 FTE for library staffing, 1.0 FTE for a counselor and 1.0 FTE for the Theater Tech position, according to Abad. The LAA allocation to the World Languages and English departments is specifically intended to help fund the Latin, Yearbook and Journalism programs. The PTSA donation did not specify where the funds would be allocated.
Wong organized a town hall meeting with parents and students on March 24 to answer their questions in a panel-style discussion format.
During the event, the PTSA and the LAA each presented a check of $300,000 to Ishibashi and the PTSA raised an additional $20,000 from donations, according to Wong.
Ishibashi addressed the importance of community in light of the school’s and district’s dire situation. “We need to work together, be strong, care about each other and have compassion,” he said. |
