By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released his revised budget proposal last Friday. With about $4 billion in unexpected revenue, he called for giving more money than formerly proposed to transportation and local governments. Schools, however, would receive relatively little in additional funds.

The governor released his original budget proposal in January.

The revised budget is bad news for schools in general, but for Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD), it likely would mean eliminating programs and jobs, a school official said on Tuesday.

To understand the district’s budget is to try to comprehend a tangled web of accounts and bureaucratic policies. But it all boils down to this: the district projects its expenses for next year to be $221.3 million. The governor’s revised budget, if it passes the state legislature intact, would force the district to make $2 million in cuts.

"Can we in California look in the mirror and say education is a priority?" asked Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Baarstad, adding that in his opinion the governor’s revised budget is "punishing" educators for their outspoken opposition to his proposals in January.

On the governor’s chopping block is a safety-net feature of Proposition 98, the constitutional amendment voters passed in 1988, which guarantees all California public schools a minimum level of funding. The governor wants to eliminate that part of the law which allows schools to recoup money from the state. During years of economic downturn, Prop. 98 allows the state to defer paying some of the money it owes schools until a time when the economy is healthy.

With the economic upswing of 2004, the state owes schools three years of deferred money, amounting to payments of $3.7 billion a year from 2005 on. What Schwarzenegger proposes is paying schools a one-time payment of $3.7 billion, and that spread over 15 years.

Moreover, the governor proposes not paying schools $1.2 billion in mandated costs—expenses school districts must pay for programs the state requires—a loss of $2 million to CVUSD.

Another aspect of the governor’s proposal is to shift to schools the state’s contribution to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS), costing the district an unanticipated $1.25 million. Schools statewide would lose $469 million. According to Baarstad, the governor suggested educators could pass the STRS costs on to teachers.

As the revised budget now stands, Baarstad said three outcomes are possible for the district:

1. If the revised budget passes the legislature intact, the district likely will have to cut programs and jobs to the tune of $2 million.

2. If the governor’s budget is altered so that the state-owed STRS costs aren’t shifted to schools, the district will have a balanced budget.

3. If, in addition to No. 2 occurring, Prop. 98 is left intact, the district could see $2-$3 million in revenue from the state.

Baarstad said the money could be used to rebuild programs whittled away by years of dwindling state funds.

If the legislature passes the governor’s budget as is, the district is poised to make cuts, Baarstad said. Although a list of programs and jobs amounting to $2 million has been compiled, it’s premature to publish it, he said.

Currently the list does not include layoffs but proposes cutting personnel, one of the district’s largest expenses, by leaving open or transferring people into vacant positions, he said.

To put into perspective the effect the governor’s proposed budget could have on the district, Baarstad said the district would be in bad shape if it were short $5 million or $6 million. "Being short $2 million is a challenge."