OUSD begins cutting costs
By Bret Bradigan

Nordhoff High School's construction-related water outages and the debut of voluntary drug testing were among key items at Tuesday's Ojai Unified School District board of trustees meeting.

But budget concerns again dominated the discussion, as even routine checks and accounts payable spurred heated debate.

Board member Bob Unruhe cast the lone dissenting vote against paying the district's January bills, after he tallied up 30 items related to district administrators and staff attending conferences. As a point of order, Superintendent Van Riley removed the items from the consent calendar, opening them to discussion before the board moved to approve them, 4-1.

But not before Unruhe made it clear that he was not in favor of sending district staff to conferences. "I can't, in good conscience, vote for something like that," he said. "Not when we are going to tell people they won't have a job next year."

The district has estimated that midyear and next year budget shortages will require the district to lay off as many as 11 teachers, though they hope that most of that can be made up with retirements and leaves of absence. Teachers must be informed by March 15 if the district will require their services for the following school year.

Board member Kathi Smith said that the information gathered at these conferences was essential to dealing with the district's money crunch. "In times like this, it is essential to send administrators to learn how to deal with budgets," she said. "I have no problem at all with people going to conferences during lean budget times."

Riley reminded the board that the district's bills were already itemized as part of the budget the board passed, and most of the expenses were incurred before the state's fiscal emergency filtered down to the local level.

Even though it may be months before the smoke clears from Sacramento budget situation, the district has already made substantial progress, Riley said, outlining an estimated $407,000 in cuts through not filling a plant manager vacancy, transfers, and canceling all open purchase orders.

Everything is still on the table for discussion for additional cuts, he said. At one of those conferences in question, Riley said he was advised that district's should proceed as if Gov. Gray Davis' cuts were going to pass. "It's going to affect everybody," he said. "That's the way it is now."

Among those items on the table for budget cuts were freezes to step increases, eliminating Nordhoff's 7th period, reducing classroom offerings such as physical education or music in elementary schools, class sizes, or even seeking a parcel tax. Though it is probably too late in the year, Riley also mentioned shortening the school year by five days. "It's unlikely for this year, but not impossible for this year," he said.

Later in the meeting, two of the district classified employees spoke about their fears and concerns as the budget crisis draws near.

Sandra Murphy, a part-time library technician and full-time parent volunteer, said, "I'm here to remind you of who the classified employees are" and listed the many quiet duties performed, such as providing students with a sympathetic ear, cleaning up their messages, getting them to and from school safely and being conduits to the community. "We are shown we are dispensable with every budget crisis, and I wonder how you will live without us."

Local Classifed Service Employee Association Vice President Dorothy Johnson spoke about the effects of budget cuts on morale, noticing the increasing workloads, and consequent stress, that school secretaries, for instance, have faced. She also mentioned a recently laid off art instructor at Chaparral High School who, though with a part-time position, represented "one-third of our fine arts program." This instructor has volunteered to continue teaching. She also mentioned the delays in enrolling students transferring from Nordhoff to Chaparral. "Everybody is picking up the slack, but I have yet to find an administrator who can enroll students in the SASY system."

The point, Johnson said, was the budget should not be balanced on the backs of the classified employees. "The classified employees are more the heart and soul of the district than is commonly recognized," she concluded.
In other business, the board received an update on the Nordhoff High School construction project, which is proceeding according to plan, despite the occasional busted water line. And there is even an upside to the unscheduled water outages, as Assistant Superintendent Jim Berube said they are an opportunity to replace rusted mains.

The district's wetlands grant money, a joint project with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy to drain Nordhoff's sporting fields into the conservancy's Ojai Meadows, has not been received, Riley said, though the funding letter is in its final form, awaiting signature from the state. Consequently, the time table has been pushed back, which allows the district to maneuver around sports schedules, minimizing disruptions to Nordhoff sports, as well as Pony League baseball and Ojai Eagles football.

During the student representative report, Lauren Wyatt said that leadership class at Nordhoff raised money for Colby Chapman's leukemia treatments, and received a visit from the 11-year-old. "It was heart warming and sad at the same time," she said. She also mentioned that leadership students were supportive of voluntary drug testing, as it gave them cover to refuse peer pressure to use drugs.

Unruhe urged the district to bring in the public for guidance on the $14 million in state bond money the district will be receiving, for which Riley received praise for nearly doubling the amount of 1998's local bond issue with state matching funds.

The district also voted to hold special meetings on Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. at Nordhoff High School to talk to students and to review construction progress. The board will also meet again that day at 7:30 p.m.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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