9 New Teachers Being Hired, District Still Faces Budget Problems

The (LVUSD) recently announced it will be hiring nine new teachers as well as maintaining low student-to-teacher ratios in the lower grades. Unfortunately, this does not mean the district is out of the woods in terms of budget woes and may still face more cuts come December, according to Karen Kimmel, school district chief business official.

"We simply rearranged the budget [currently at $88 million] and flushed out the numbers," said Kimmel.

In order to do this, the district shifted funds previously designated for two reading specialists to add the nine elementary teachers.

"The new teachers will be on temporary contracts," said Dr. Rose Dunn, director of instruction. "Unfortunately, we are not able to make any long-term commitments to them at this time."

In addition, the LVUSD voted to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade to an average of 22 students to one teacher, part of the state's class size reduction mandate, which penalizes schools for every student beyond  the 20:1 ratio.

The district was able to reallocate existing resources and qualify for additional class size reduction funding, said Kimmel.

However, the district may face more cut-backs when the state announces its education budget projections on Dec. 15. "If we cannot meet the numbers, we may have to reinstate six furlough days," said Kimmel. Currently, the school year calendar stands at 180 days.

"What concerns me is hearing headlines like 'district hiring new teachers, class sizes down' because, the truth is, the situation is no better now than it was at the end of last [school year] and at the end of the S.O.S campaign," said Ziona Friedlander, president of Together Helping Education (T.H.E.), a recently incorporated foundation that will be the school district's partner in addressing the budget crisis. "I would hate for the people to think everything is good and we no longer need to make financial contributions to education."

Through the T.H.E. foundation, Friedlander hopes to raise $3.8 million dollars for the district. "This can no longer be considered a donation, but more of an investment in your child's future," she said. "We can't rely on the state to provide our kids with quality education anymore.

Friedlander also endorses the newly proposed parcel tax initiative that will go before voters in November. If approved, the tax would generate $2.2 million annually for eight years