------ Forwarded Message

From: Communications Communications <communications@...>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:02:43 -0700
To: Communications Communications <communications@...>
Subject: Message from Superintendent Diaz

March 10, 2009

Dear PUSD Community Member:

In this environment of economic uncertainty, the Board of Education and
I are committed to keeping our employees, families and community members
informed about the financial position of the Pasadena Unified School
District (PUSD) and our efforts to balance the budget, preserve our
focus on student achievement and accelerate academic and organizational
improvement.

On March 3, the Board of Education held the first of a series of study
sessions to hear an update on the state budget and federal stimulus
bill, review projected major changes for the Second Interim Report, and
discuss an approach and process for development of the 2009-10 budget.


The recently adopted state budget will cut a total of $13 million from
PUSDıs General Fund over the next 18 months, and require a 20 percent
reduction in categorical funds. Despite the size and immediacy of the
reductions, PUSD will be able to balance its budget for 2008-09,
entering the upcoming fiscal year in a stronger position than most
school districts statewide. Additionally, PUSD is projected to receive
approximately $11 million from the federal stimulus package, which will
further mitigate the deficit in the short term.

The Board of Education enacted a variety of proactive measures to
reduce expenditures over the past year, including backfilling the
shortfall with one-time funds, identifying $3 million in current-year
reductions, leaving vacancies unfilled, shifting expenditures to
categorical sources, and restructuring positions for greater efficiency.
Although the stimulus funding will help in the short term, these are
only one-time funds, and we will have to identify an additional $6 to $7
million in ongoing reductions to maintain a balanced budget in future
years.

Before March 15, PUSD will determine the number of layoff notices to be
issued to help close the budget gap. Currently, we are estimating that
PUSD will issue approximately 35 to 50 certificated notices. This
number is relatively low compared to neighboring districts, such as
Azusa, which plans to cut 116, and Rowland Heights, which may issue 88
notices. Nevertheless, we are saddened at the prospect of making any
staff reductions during this difficult time, and we are considering
various strategies to limit staff reductions.

District executive staff continues to meet bi-weekly to gather
information and identify areas for additional cuts. Recently, those
discussions have focused on establishing base staffing ratios for every
job classification. This will ensure that we have a consistent and
equitable level of staff at every campus district-wide. The group also
continues to evaluate existing programs in which the District is
currently investing significant resources, including: International
Baccalaureate, supplemental staffing for the Reinvention of John Muir,
JROTC and the KLRN television station. Among the other budget reduction
ideas under consideration are: increasing class sizes, reducing
counselors, reducing summer school offerings, and cutting security
officers.

On March 6, the Board held a study session focused on prioritizing
budget decisions and to finalize recommendations for March 15 notices.
On March 11, the Board will hold a third study session to certify the
second interim report and develop a process and timeline for addressing
2009-10 budget decisions.

We will continue to keep you updated as the budget process moves
forward, both through our ongoing communication with employee bargaining
units and direct communications to employees. For more information
about the PUSD budget, please visit http://www.pusdbudget.org.

Sincerely,

Edwin Diaz

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