VENTURA : School Officials Discuss Budget Cuts

The effects of statewide budget problems on Ventura’s schools, including possible layoffs and cuts to programs, dominated questions raised by parents and teachers at an open discussion held by the superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District on Monday.

About 75 people attended the discussion, at which Supt. Cesare Caldarelli Jr. talked about the district’s most urgent problems: where to make an estimated $3.2 million in cuts, and how many people may be laid off or demoted. The board must decide on layoffs by May 15, he said.

In response to questions about how schools statewide got into such bad financial shape, Caldarelli said schools “have not kept pace with looking ahead and building support for funding over a period of time.”

One area where cuts may be made in Ventura is in salaries and benefits for teachers and administrators, Caldarelli said. Officials have discussed slashing salaries 4% to 8% for district employees in an effort to save jobs, but that would not be enough to balance the budget, he said.

Because personnel costs make up most of the district’s expenses, some jobs may be eliminated, Caldarelli said. “It’s as simple as that and as terrible as that. We’re trying to get out this year alive,” he said.

Caldarelli said any salary cuts must be negotiated with employee unions.