Schools across the state face furlough week, but SMMUSD is prepared
Hilary DubinStaff WriterCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown will announce the state budget in January 2012. Based on this announcement, school districts across the state could potentially face cuts to their school years of up to one week.According to the Chief Financial Officer for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Jan Maez, if the budget is not as high as the state had hoped in January, the governor will “activate the triggers” and make several cuts to state infrastructure. Maez said in the worst-case scenario these triggers would include a $400,000 cut to transportation and a $260 cut per student, resulting in a total of approximately $3 million in cuts per district. Because school districts across the state would lose so much funding, many may have to reduce the length of their school year to save money.“In general, [it’s harsh for] anybody that has to experience a furlough day,” I house assistant Chaneé Washington said. “People are still trying to recover from the furlough days last school year.”According to Maez, realistically the state will probably only make cuts of about $13 per student as opposed to the anticipated $260, though transportation will still be cut by $400,000.“The triggers are much less than expected so it puts everyone in a better financial position,” Maez said.Maez said the school board set aside $3 million from their reserves in case of statewide budget cuts, so our schools are well prepared for the potential cuts and will have enough funding to keep schools open for the full 180 day school year.“Curriculum wise, with a furlough week we would not be able to get enough done, so students would lack the information they need for the following course,” math teacher Marae Cruce said.Students agree that a furlough week would hinder students’ learning.“Although it would be nice to have a longer summer, I understand that a furlough week would be extremely detrimental to the teachers and faculty so I guess it’s better for everyone that we aren’t having one,” junior Dorcas Kong said.hdubin@thesamohi.com