Divided board passes budget

The Glenn County Office of Education budget narrowly passed board approval Wednesday.

In a 3-2 vote, county school board members gave the nod to a $16 million budget that raised numerous questions.

The budget has a $187,600 deficit that officials said will be covered by savings from not filing four retirement positions, as well as potential student revenue from the state.

Board President Judy Holzapfel and director Gene Massa rejected the budget as presented. Catherine Hanes, Gail Zimmerman and Kathy Perez voted for it.

Perez emphasized that the state Education Code requires an approved budget by July 1. She said while she had some issues with it, she would prefer to pass the budget in its current form and make changes later.

There was some uncertainty, however, what passing a late budget would actually mean for the Office of Education.

And there were bigger concerns as well.

Holzapfel, who worked for GCOE for 30 years before retiring, voted against approval based on wanting to transfer funds from the deferred maintenance fund — which sits at $1.5 million — to the economic uncertainty reserve fund — budgeted at $850,000.

She asked how long the reserve money would last if it were needed.

"Not very long," answered Superintendent of Schools Arturo Barrera, who put the budget together along with his assistant superintendents and other department heads.

Though he and Jones could not provide hard figures, Barrera estimated quarterly operational costs at about $1 million. Jones said he would provide an accurate figure within a few days.

He also said the money could be moved before or when the first interim report is submitted to the board.

That seemed to appease Perez, but not Holzapfel.

Massa's objection to approving the budget was based on his desire to pay attention to all students in Glenn County, not just at the Office of Education.

"I strongly think the Office of Education has a duty to school districts," he said.

Massa's idea was to reallocate the funds on a one-time to help districts in need to get through the 2010-11 school year a bit easier.

The proposal would be for the county departments not to charge the districts as much for services GCOE provides for students and districts throughout the county. In turn, the board would backfill the department budgets with those revenues lost from the districts.

Massa made a motion to move $80,000 from the deferred maintenance fund back to the departments, even though department heads warned against it.

Their fear was "people will get used to it" and want it every year.

"There has to be mechanism to remind people it's one time, so it doesn't get re-allocated," said Roberto Herniman, GCOE's Internet technology director, who was cautious about the proposal.

Barrera strongly advised against such a move.

"It would go directly against the efforts the organization has made to try to live within their means. ... Let's act like the monies aren't there."

Massa countered that, "I'm looking at what can help each department. We're here to look after the districts and the students."

Holzapfel's perspective was the local districts need to take care of their own financial problems.

"The board has to be loyal to Glenn County Office of Education and our students and other students."

Though Perez originally backed the motion, she later rescinded her second based on what department heads had to say. As a result, the motion died.

"I clearly understand what the staff said," Massa said after the meeting, emphasizing the money would be put back into the department budgets for one year only.

"I'm looking out for the whole county," he said.

Other issues did not sit well with board members and they asked some tough questions.

For example, Jones explained the board must "approve budget revisions and/or consultant agreements in excess of $25,000 when constituting a budget revision."

While Massa said the board does not want to "micro-manage," others expressed concern that the superintendent's office could squeeze through several amounts just under $25,000.

"And that could add up to a lot of money," Hanes said.

"We need checks and balances. We have a fiduciary responsibility," Massa said.

Much of the discussion revolved around William Finch Charter School offering classroom instruction in 2010-11 for students in kindergarten to fifth grade.

The charter school was established to accommodate home-study, though in 2009-10 a few onsite classes were provided for high school math, reading and science labs, according to principal Susan Domenighini.

The GCOE budget includes only two classroom spaces for the new onsite program, but board members wanted to know about other expenditures associated with the program.

"Have projections been done for revenue and expenses?" Massa asked.

"We have not done that," Jones replied, "because we are not sure what the projected enrollment is, nor have I met with Susan to see about a projected budget."

Barrera added, "We have a rough projection .... Based on our conversations with parents, it will fly."

Officials said average daily attendance funds paid for each student in the classroom are expected to cover expenses for the program.

Still, concern was voiced about what would happen to teachers if enrollments begin to decline mid-year.

Jones said as part of the county teachers association, their contracts will be for a full school year and GCOE will be obligated to fulfill them, even if enrollment drops resulting in less ADA money.

Two other issues remain unresolved: Agreements have not been reached with the teachers or classified associations; and the state budget has not been approved. Both will require adjustments to GCOE's budget.

Contact Lydia Harris at 934-6800 or 865-3110 or lharris@tcnpress.com.