The Cupertino Union School District has approved its first interim budget report while layoffs and program cuts are still on the table for the district to balance its budget.
The district board of education unanimously voted to approve the first interim budget report at a meeting on Dec. 11. The budget report takes a snapshot of the district’s finances from the beginning of the fiscal year in July until Oct. 31.
The vote comes as the district has announced plans to make cuts in middle school electives, transitional kindergarten hours and high-paid employees in order to make up millions in deficit spending.
“We have tried to develop a fiscal stabilization plan that will then meet the needs of the ongoing budget, … that will eliminate the deficit spending, that will establish a pathway to fiscal stability, that will increase reserves and will recognize and value employees,” said Tina Bernal, director of business services.
Stacy Yao, superintendent of the district, said in an email that formal employee layoff resolutions must be brought before the board prior to a March 15 deadline.
The district is currently projecting $253.7 in revenue and $267.8 in expenses, according to the first interim report.
The Cupertino Union School District includes 17 elementary schools and five middle schools for grades TK-8, and they include Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos and Cupertino Middle School in Sunnyvale, which has students from Los Altos.
Yao said during the meeting that the district was intending to make up $8 million in savings from cuts. About $4.5 million would come from staff cuts, about $2.2 million from the system changes and $1 million from early retirements.
With staff cuts, the reductions would come over the course of multiple votes and board sessions related to the various unions that represent the positions, Yao said.
“We tried to find as many of those reductions as we could,” she said. “There are different processes for every position. They don’t come as one lump sum.”
The district also plans to make some financial changes that do not involve personnel. Bernal said during her presentation that $3 million in supplemental taxes, $8.4 million from a bond fund, and $3.3 from a debt refinancing would be added to revenues, while materials and equipment costs would increase costs by $1 million.
The board is considering cutting TK to a half-day class, a savings of about $2.59 million. Other options include a full-day TK class which would be capped at 360 students, resulting in a savings of $3.24 million. The last option is a split day with classes either in the morning or the afternoon, resulting in $2.56 million in savings.
The district is also considering giving seventh and eighth grade students the option of taking a second elective. Sixth grade students would only take one elective. It would result in a decrease of 18 full-time employees of middle school staff and about $2.1 million in savings.
The district is also proposing early retirement for 475 eligible employees. If all the employees retired by June 30 it would amount to $1.1 million in savings.
