District, school plan for budget cuts

Due to reductions in state and local funding, the district’s Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) has compiled a list of possible reductions at the school and district. Such reductions would be effective for the upcoming school year.

District Superintendent Dr. Barry Groves will present his budget recommendation to the Board of Trustees next Tuesday, April 6.

Although the BAC has proposed cuts of $1.6 million at the Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) District level, Groves said that uncertainty of state funding may render additional cuts necessary.

“We’re trying to get things that will have the least impact or shortest long-term effect on kids,” Groves said. “Obviously there’s nothing here that we think is not useful—we’re just tightening [the budget].”

According to Principal Wynne Satterwhite, LAHS will be making changes at the site level to plan for budget cuts. These changes will likely include changes to classes offered, class sizes and schedule flexibility.

Courses previously offered through Foothill College—including Mandarin, Sports Medicine and Digital Photography—are “in jeopardy” of being cut next year, according to Groves. Foothill classes require at least 30 students to be offered at LAHS, and Satterwhite said that LAHS has not received enough sign-ups for those classes.

Groves and Satterwhite said that Foothill itself will have to cut approximately 1,000 class sections next year.

“If we do get the numbers [of students that we need to offer a class], then we still have to negotiate with Foothill,” Satterwhite said.

Satterwhite said that Mandarin, which was offered at the school this year, will not be an option next year. The school is looking into ways to offer the course online.

Satterwhite said she also had “bad vibes” about the availability of Sports Medicine next year. Earlier this year, the school had difficulty in filling the required number of students for the class.

According to Groves, the MVLA district anticipates cuts to California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) classes at a district level. Satterwhite said it is difficult to plan for this at the present because the results of the CAHSEE have not yet been released and the number of students who will need CAHSEE assistance is unknown.

“[Even if the classes are cut,] we will figure out a way to get students through the CAHSEE one way or another,” Satterwhite said.

CAHSEE teacher Therese Ducharme said that the class is helpful because it gives students daily practice with the CAHSEE, which she does not believe they can necessarily get in their English or math classes.

“It’s not the tutoring that the students need so much as someone who can help them learn test-taking skills and help them gain confidence,” Ducharme said.

Although most of the students in the CAHSEE course have passed the test by second semester, Ducharme said the class is “really great for the students,” especially in first semester.

“Maybe another option is to make it a one semester class [instead of cutting the class entirely],” Ducharme said.

Additionally, Groves said that students next year may experience more difficulty in switching their schedule after enrolling in their classes.

“If you’re in an Honors class and want to drop it, or you want to change your schedule around for other reasons, it will be more difficult to do that because [each period of a class] will probably be tighter,” Groves said.

Satterwhite agreed and said that classes next year might be “fuller” but “not unreasonable” in size.

“It’s going to be tighter,” Satterwhite said. “Students considering Honors and AP classes need to think long and hard about [their course selection].”

According to Groves, the cuts at the district level will likely include cuts to instructional materials as well.

“Everybody will still be able to have a textbook,” Groves said. “They just may not get [a new one] as soon.”

Groves said other cuts may include the hours of library technicians, although the library would still be open the same number of hours.

Groves will recommend that the Board of Trustees cut the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program’s budget at both Mountain View High and LAHS by half, from a total of $32,000 to $16,000.

According to Satterwhite and Groves, the Board of Trustees will hear the BAC’s recommendation on Tuesday and then vote on a final budget in June.