By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent
- Budget Committee Recommends Cutting JROTC
- Lunar New Year Holidays Proposed
- Financial Reports for 2005-06 Completed
Budget Committee Recommends Cutting JROTC
The school board's Budget Committee last night gave a positive recommendation a plan to phase out JROTC, by a vote of two ayes (Commissioner Eric Mar and Commissioner Norman Yee) to one nay (Commissioner Jill Wynns).
JROTC costs the district close to $1 million per year more than what the U.S. military, which subsidizes the program, reimburses the district, according to figures presented by district staff. The costs represent salaries and benefits for the 15 instructors who lead the program. The U.S. military pays for half the salaries and all the materials and equipment needed, approximately $750,000 more. It does not pay for employee benefits.
The motion before the Budget Committee contained one major change from measures previously considered by the board. It looked at phasing out the program but did not discuss a replacement program. Instead it looked at the cost to absorb these students into existing district classes - physical education and electives - plus provide similar after-school activities, such as drum corps, flag corps and color guard. The total cost was estimated at slightly less than it costs the district to run JROTC.
The resolution calls for no new students to be enrolled in JROTC after the current semester, no credits other than PE credits to be rewarded for JROTC after the current school year and for the program to be phased out entirely by 2008-09.
Alan Lesik, a member of the public, thanked the district for releasing figures as to the program's cost. "We are choosing to spend $1 million on this program. There's a sense in the community that it is free."
Wynns voted against the resolution because, she said, the real budget impact could not be known without looking at a replacement program. "All the rhetoric around this has been about finding a replacement program," she said.
Committee members said more detail needed to be presented about how the funds would be redistributed, so that the schools that currently have JROTC instruction would get additional funding to cover the lack. Although Yee voted in favor of the resolution, he expressed concern that a replacement program "might not be one the one that works or is best for the kids but the one that fits within this budget."
Lunar New Year Holidays Proposed
The committee recommended that there be a day off for Lunar New Year, observed by a majority of the city's Asian population, even in years when the day falls on the weekend. Schools are currently closed for the holiday when it falls during the week. The new proposal would also give a day off - the nearest Monday or Friday - in years the holiday falls on the weekend. The cost of doing so would be $207,000 every year in which this is the case. There are only two such years coming up in the near future, 2010 and 2013.
Financial Reports for 2005-06 Completed
The district completed its unaudited financial reports for fiscal year 2005-06. Board members congratulated the financial office for presenting them on time - something they have had trouble doing in previous years - which will assist the district in current budget planning.
Most of the budget corresponded to that which had been projected in June, but there were some surprises, particularly when it came to encroachments.
Encroachments occur when funds earmarked for a specific purpose are not sufficient to cover the program, and general funds must be used to cover the shortfall. Encroachments in the area of child development were expected to be $1.5 million and turned out to be $3 million. Encroachments in student nutrition were expected to be $0, and turned out to be $770,000. In addition, Chief Financial Officer Joseph Grazioli said the district was facing an unfunded liability in worker's compensation of about $26 million. "It's going to be almost impossible to reach that in future years," he said.
Presentation of the reports and analysis as to what they mean to the district will be presented at the next board meeting.
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