Burlingame school officials addressing budget deficit

And while no decision was made at the meeting, officials suggested they were comfortable with a focus largely on limiting administrative and support costs to preserve teaching positions.

Superintendent Christopher Mount-Benites, who crafted the budget balancing proposal, said he is hopeful the district can advance toward fiscal solvency by not filling vacant positions and looking for other cost savings.

But he noted the approach kept away from the classroom is purposefully imbalanced, and that if unsuccessful, future budget discussions will need to include teaching positions.

“The reductions here are inherently unfair,” said Mount-Benites, who acknowledged the balancing strategies designed to minimize impact on the classroom will lead to greater responsibilities for administrators and support personnel.

The proposal calls for $1.9 million in reductions, $714,000 of which come from management positions, $600,000 from classified positions and $573,000 from certificated personnel who are not active teachers.

The management savings come from the elimination of coordinators of student engagement and director of innovation positions, while also reclassifying fiscal analyst positions.

The classified savings come from eliminating a wellness coordinator, applications specialist, accounts payable position as well as a receptionist at the district office and administrative assistant of educational services.

The certificated reductions are program specialists, a speech and language professional, world language teacher and worker in the learning center.

Mount-Benites said the most positions on the chopping block are expected to be vacant by the end of the year, and that no certificated layoffs would be necessary to achieve the savings.

He attempted to measure expectations with the proposal, noting that future budget amendments may be necessary down the road.

“This is not a ‘fix-all’ — this will provide two years of solvency and allow us to work on the deficit looming,” said a report crafted by the superintendent.

Mount-Benites said he preferred the proposed strategy because it granted officials time to continue working on the issue rather than attempting to immediately address the entire shortfall with more sweeping reductions.

He also preferred it to a proposal from some community members who suggested the district do away with its transitional kindergarten program. Critics of the program note it is not mandated for the district to operate and that it costs money to run.

But Mount-Benites said he considered the program beneficial to the community, because early childhood education is critical. Additionally, he maintained some hope that state officials would start contributing funding to expand the programs.

In all, the proposed budget balancing strategy is contingent on Gov. Gavin Newsom approving a budget that includes a cost of living adjustment allocation for state schools.

Mount-Benites said the inflation payment does not seem a particularly controversial item in state budget talks, but suggested its elimination would immediately jeopardize the district’s financial outlook.

To that end, he suggested the district’s deficit would grow to roughly $3 million in the next fiscal year if the cost of living adjustment payment is not delivered.

Further, Trustee Deepak Sarpangal feared increased contribution obligations to the district’s employee retirement plan funds could threaten the district’s budget stability plan too.

The district’s budget fed primarily through state funding rather than property tax has grown thin over recent years, partially due to declining enrollment.

And while there is an influx of residential development underway in Burlingame some trustees hope will stabilize enrollment, Mount-Benites maintained a more skeptical position.

Noting the shift of residents from the Bay Area to other parts of the state and nation that are more affordable, Mount-Benites said it is unlikely Burlingame’s budget will see much relief through a growing student population.

“We cannot anticipate to get back all the enrollment we have lost,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com