MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL
VOL. 55, NO. 1
September 27, 2019
41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539
NEW YEAR, NEW BUDGET By Josephine Chew, Sabrina Cai, & Gokul Ramapriyan Opinion Editor & Staff Writers The FUSD Board of Education voted in May and June to implement a number of budget reductions strategies in response to a reported $16.3 million budget deficit in the 2019-20 fiscal year. These cuts had several ramifications, including reduced class offerings, a higher student-teacher ratio per class, and a lack of student resources in the school. In order to help the MSJ community better understand these changes, the Smoke Signal interviewed district and school officials about the budget cuts and their effects on the MSJ community.
ORIGINS
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE...
According to Superintendent Kim Wallace, “This situation is caused by a number of factors including a slight decrease in enrollment, increasing pension and special education costs, and continued lack of sufficient funding from the state.” FUSD Budget, Audit and Attendance Director Rais Abbasi said that FUSD bases its budget off of multi-year enrollment projections, which take into account factors like city birth count, flux of people moving in or out of Fremont, and number of available housing units — higher enrollment means more money from the state. Because this year’s enrollment was around 600 students lower than predicted, he said that the district had to compensate with budget reductions.
In terms of future budget changes, Abbasi said that “This year is very much set.” However, he also said, “Information changes. We react to all the information, from June until now. Enrollment has actually been further reduced, but we are trying to make some adjustments on the financial side so we don’t have to make any budget cuts.” He said that although class sizes have increased, no teachers were laid off. On the management side, he said that principals, directors, managers, and supervisors have taken two furlough days — mandatory absences without pay.
CONSEQUENCES With regards to state funding, Abbasi said that in recent years, the state has cut back on its contributions to employee retirement plans, creating additional expenses for the district. He said that rising costs for special education programs add to the financial stress, as FUSD pays for special education students to attend specialized schools that can meet their needs; it also provides them with transportation. According to Special Education Teacher Sujuta Singh, the MSJ Special Education Department has fewer staff members and paraeducators this year than in previous years, which makes running such a demanding class more difficult. The department also has expenditure limits, so they stated they cannot buy all the supplies that they would like. In addition, Singh said that the district is less willing to approve overtime payments for special education staff this year, even though they frequently devote extra time to the class before and after school.
BUDGET BALANCING SUMMARY Other service and opening expenditure reductions
$ in millions Elimination of home-to-school bus service
$1.64 Program reductions
$3.20
$3.36 STUDENT INVOLVEMENT In response to these changes, students have taken action to highlight their concerns. GENup was founded by MSJ Junior Alvin Lee and Student Representative of Oakland teachers’ union Lauren Kahn. This youth-led education advocacy coalition is dedicated to increasing student participation and awareness in reforming Proposition 13, an amendment that placed a cap on property tax rates. Its first campaign is working with the Schools and Communities First ballot initiative, which focuses on reforms at the state level on commercial property taxes, while guaranteeing existing protections for residential property and agricultural land. As of now, changes such as increased class sizes are expected to roll over into future years, as it will take time to accumulate sufficient resources to counteract budget cuts. Students can stay updated by watching or reading about board meetings on the district website.
$3.64 $4.47
Increasing class sizes
Freezing/recognizing vacant personnal
*2019-2020 budget balancing solutions as reported by FUSD
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CURRENT BUDGET CUTS? “The budget cuts are an unfortunate reality, but all the community can do at this point is to keep a positive attitude and remember that everyone in the district, including other schools and teachers, is taking a hit and just be aware of the cuts and how they affect us.” — 2019-20 SURFBoardE Representative Karen Li
“The state of CA in the negotiations last year made it clear that the district could afford the very low offer that was on the table at the time, so it’s incredibly surprising that we’re getting such budget cuts in the face of no real economic crisis — that’s what leads many people to theorize that it is retaliatory for what happened last year.” — English Teacher Brian Rath
NORMAN REVIEW Want to F***ING reminisceROCKWELL! a night of breathtaking outfits andLana inspiring performances? Read about Del Rey’s new album Check and the Smoke Signal’s photo herout return to the indie-pop scenecoverage with a spinof the show! on her traditional Americana aesthetic!
HOMSJ: SCHOOL Haven’tBACK had aTO chance to listen to BTS’s latest release? the Smoke Signal’s and review of Hear video Read responses from students teachworld-renowned K-Pop group’s new ers about their goals and expectation foralbum. the new school year!
“[The cuts have] really affected a lot of students because they aren’t able to take the classes that they want, and that in turn impacts their education. I think we have a lot fewer opportunities [now] and the district needs to find a way to fix it because it’s really messing with the kids’ educations.” — Junior Ishita Gupta
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