The West Sonoma County Union High School District board of trustees reorganized members Dec. 16 and set course for 2021 on an unusually quiet night compared to most of its meetings these last couple months.
Outgoing trustees Diane Landry and Ted Walker took a bow, presented with a montage of photos from their time in leadership and the gratitude of their peers, both departing with well over a decade of school board experience in Sonoma County.
Newcomers Julie Aiello and Laurie Fadave took the oath of office and the board unanimously recast Kellie Noe as president, Jeanne Fernandes as vice president and Angie Lewis as clerk. The next board meeting is Jan. 5, 2021.
The first interim report certifies the district as qualified
The trustees unanimously approved that the district will file a qualified certification according to Chief Business Official Jeff Ogston’s projections that the district may not be able to afford its financial obligations in the current or two following fiscal years in his first interim budget report.
“We’ll hopefully get better news in January regarding the state budget but as it stands now, the deferrals remain in place for the next two years, and with those in place, there is the potential of running into negative cash in the 2021-2022 school year,” Ogston said.
Ogston said the issue of deficit spending remains critical, despite cost savings from Analy bus route cuts and lower operational expenses since the campuses have been closed. While he said the district should be able to end the 2020-2021 fiscal year with a mild surplus, he predicts a deficit of $1.4 in the 2021-2022 year and $2 million in the 2022-2023 year.
Ogston projects the district would kick off the 2021-2022 fiscal year with about $3.2 million, but it would only be able to make it through the year with the required 3% reserves for economic uncertainty still intact by soaking up all other funds available.
“That means the only thing we have left is our emergency fund. That is it,” he said, adding the other restricted funds aren’t district money, but donation accounts at the site level. The year would close with a $1.7 million net ending balance.
The district goes deep into the red with a negative net ending balance of $1.8 million, the minimum number the district would need to cover with reductions or a combination of revenue increases and budget cuts, according to Ogston.
Ogston said, “I do want to point out that if the state deferrals remain intact, we are at risk in about May or June of about 2022 of running into negative cash.”
He shared that he felt optimistic that the governor’s initial 2021-2022 state budget will be better than originally expected, but the district must make budget changes of about $1,815,000 to meet the minimum reserve requirements in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
According to Ogston, the superintendent’s budget committee will reconvene in January to work on the fiscal recovery plan, due with the district’s second interim budget report on March 10. Voters will pass or fail the district’s parcel tax measure and the West County Transient Occupancy tax March 2.
“So, this tight window between March 2 and March 10 might not allow for enough time to either include or not include those potential revenues,” Ogston said. The chief business official said if the measures pass and the revenue cannot be included in the second interim report, he will submit a third interim report that can account for those changes.
A third interim report would be due in May if the district maintains a qualified certification, he said, and then the district would have to create an adopted budget for the 2021-2022 school year.
WSCUHSD to continue distance learning until at least March 19, may reassess if county status improves
The trustees unanimously voted to continue distance learning until at least March 19, 2021, although Superintendent Toni Beal said the board is free to reassess sooner if the county’s status changes significantly, like downgrading to the red or orange tiers.
Sonoma County remains perched at the most restrictive tier for widespread COVID-19 transmission under Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.” Beal said the county also supports distance education until March, a year since the initial shutdown. At that point, the board would reconvene and discuss whether the district could transition to a hybrid instruction, she said.
While the vaccine is out, Beal said she understood teachers to be third in line after healthcare workers and residents of elderly care facilities. “Mind you when they talk about teachers, the first wave of teachers that would have vaccines available would be the elementary teachers,” she said.
The soonest schools could be predicted to start hybrid instruction would be when the county makes it to the orange tier, for moderate transmission, Beal said. “If I had to wager, I would wager that it would be later than March.”
Board vice president Fernandes said she knows the wait is frustrating for parents, students, teachers, staff and the board. “And our hands are kind of tied unfortunately,” she said. “It’s hard to watch people struggle and I know our students have just had enough. Really glad they’re going to get some time off from having to sit in front of a computer.”
Trustees consider times past and times to come
Landry and Walker shared some parting thoughts in their final moments serving on the school board.
Landry looked upon the trustees and addressed additional community leaders on Zoom. “Each one of you, in your particular way, has enriched my life to such a degree that I carry you with me in my heart,” she said.
Walker shared he has settled into his new home in Seattle, Washington. “I want to give a shoutout to, number one, all the trustees because it’s a lot of work, a lot of prep, a lot of heartache, a lot of melted ice cream in the Safeway store all the time.”
Newly appointed president Noe said, “I know this coming year, like a couple of the last years, it’s not going to be easy and I am looking forward to what we can hopefully put forth for the district to do what we know is best for our kids.”
