School budgets hit hard as districts make deep cuts

This is part one of Laura McCutcheon’s two part roundup of
school news for 2010.
The year 2010 for schools was fiscally challenging to say the
least, when in West County — and across the state — districts were
faced with billions of dollars in proposed cuts.
Two local schools were forced to close due to a lack of
operating funds, educators and other school staff were seduced with
early retirement incentives and there were others who either lost
their jobs altogether, or took a cut in hours and pay.
The high school student calendar was also reduced by five days,
as a cost saving measure.
Three local districts asked voters to support them by way of
school bond measures, and all three got what they asked for in
November, when constituents came through for their schools.
Through it all, and most importantly, young people continued to
get an education thanks to the combined efforts of district and
school site administrations, board trustees, staff, educators,
volunteers and support from community members.
January:
• Sonoma County schools superintendent Carl Wong announced he
would not seek reelection, and that he would retire after a 38-year
career in public education.
• Russian River Charter School learned its fiscal stability was
in jeopardy as the result of an error detected during an audit. The
California Department of Education said the Forestville-based
charter, during the 2007-08 school year, received more Average
Daily Attendance money than it should have and requested the school
pay back almost $400,000. The discrepancy in ADA money was the
result of confusion about the interpretation of the independent
study law, according to then RRCS Superintendent Jorge Wahner,
II.
Russian River Charter appealed the audit. A settlement was
reached with the CDE and the California Department of Fiscal
Services, but the Education Audit Appeals Panel rejected the
settlement.
In the end, the school was forced to close in June, due to a
lack of operating funds. The state agreed to allow the charter to
use the majority of the revenue it was asking for to pay its bills,
such as rent for the building, utilities, legal fees, etc.
• The REACH Charter School on the Brook Haven campus was awarded
a $250,000 grant from the California Department of Education. The
money, in the form of a Planning and Implementation grant, was to
be used over the course of the next three years.
• Sebastopol Union School District said goodbye to a dedicated
educator and hello to another equally as passionate about students,
staff, and the welfare of schools, when Superintendent David
Wheeler retired and Pine Crest Principal Liz Schott took on the
roll of superintendent-principal, similar to the position Wheeler
held before he retired.
February
• West County schools — and schools across the state — faced
billions of dollars in proposed cuts. Larger class sizes, fewer
school days, and a reduction in salaries and benefits for staff,
were among the money-saving measures Sebastopol area school
districts implemented.
Sebastopol Union School District announced they would need to
cut at least $650,000 from the upcoming budget; West Sonoma County
Union High School District said it needed to cut $700,000 out of
the 2010-11 budget and $2.7 million by the end of school year
2011-12.
• An outdated sex education policy emphasizing abstinence until
marriage was under review by West County’s high school district,
which was tasked with providing students more comprehensive and
medically accurate information.
March
• The Forestville Union School District considered placing a
school improvement bond measure on the November ballot in an
attempt to secure funds for an array of projects, including
improving energy efficiency at its schools and creating
infrastructure to support a kindergarten program.
• The WSCUHSD board voted in favor of revising its outdated sex
education policy, which would include, but not be limited to, an
abstinence-only piece.
• Budget woes hit teacher jobs in near-record levels. In two
sweeping motions, a disheartened WSCUHSD board voted in favor of
eliminating 1.26 full-time equivalent positions made up of five
people. In addition, approximately 20 classified staff members were
told they would be working two less days per year, three were told
they’d be working 10 less days, one would be working 20 less days
and another would be working 40 less days. Five classified staff
members were told they would lose their jobs altogether in the
upcoming school year. Preliminary layoff notices were also issued
to teachers and certified staff at the majority of West County’s
elementary and middle schools.
• Windsor school’s Superintendent Steve Herrington learned he
was the only candidate running for Sonoma County Superintendent of
Schools, as the filing deadline came and went.
April
• West County bus driver Karen Schladweiler (also known as “Mrs.
S” and “Shorty”) retired after 31 years with the district.
Schaldweiler made the bus ride fun, according to her passengers and
fellow employees, whom she referred to as “one big family.”
• Five teachers in the Sebastopol Union School District accepted
early retirement incentives, which was to result in fewer layoffs
in the coming year, a financial savings for the district, more
lucrative pension plans for four of the educators, and a chunk of
change for the other.
• The Analy High School choir merged with 110 other young
vocalists from all over the country and gathered together on the
Perelman Stage and sang choral works by Eric Whitacre, while the
renowned composer himself, conducted.
May
• Two El Molino High School students faced the county’s juvenile
justice system after being arrested for weapons possession on
campus. According to school officials, an unidentified freshman was
removed from class as the result of a tip from another student. As
he was being escorted to the office, it was discovered that he was
in possession of a loaded Glock 9 mm pistol.
• WSCUHSD teachers and staff members banded together during
another storm of budget cuts, in an attempt to save education’s
life. Life preservers came in the form of an agreement between the
district and the West Sonoma County Teachers Association, which
reduced the number of instructional days over a three-year period,
while also cutting compensation to employees.
• Harmony Union School District — already a step ahead in the
green game — earned the nation’s first Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design Platinum certification for a school district
from the United States Green Building Council. The district’s
schools, consisting of Harmony Elementary and Salmon Creek, a
charter school, share a 50-acre campus with wetlands, a redwood
forest, and a year-round creek.
June
• At its June meeting the WSCUHSD board of trustees presented
Superintendent Keller McDonald with the 2010 Becky Hopper Make a
Difference Award.
In 1999, the board established the annual award, named after a
former trustee who is said to have set the standard upon which the
recognition is based. The Becky Hopper Award recognizes an
individual or a group of people whose dedication and service to
students far exceeds the requirements of their position or
affiliation with the WSCUHSD.