Burlingame schools approve cuts to fix budget shortfall

The measures are part of a larger reconfiguration strategy designed to ultimately bring into alignment a structural budget deficit worth as much as $3.4 million over the coming years.

The approved cuts target 13 management, classified and certificated positions — most of which will be vacant at the end of the year. Officials also identified an additional $600,000 in previous discussions for consideration as well.

The management savings come from the elimination of coordinators of student engagement and director of innovation positions. The classified savings come from eliminating a wellness coordinator, applications support specialist, accounting technician as well as a receptionist at the district office and administrative assistant of educational services.

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

Officials had focused the cuts away from the classroom with hopes of protecting teaching positions, while Superintendent Christopher Mount-Benites sought greater spending efficiency.

Trustee Kate Reed lauded the effort to close the budget gap without laying off working educators.

“Given where we started with the budget conversation and the challenges we were facing — to be able to approve these things tonight with no layoffs is such great work by the staff and district,” she said.

There is still work to be done though, as the balancing measures cut the budget hole to about $671,000 by the end of this fiscal quarter and the structural deficit is slated to continue growing.

Officials are expected to draw down reserves to offset the spending outpacing revenue, and the savings fund could be diminished from the roughly $8 million held currently to $3.3 million by the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Pandemic relief funds are expected to be offered to the district as well, because the district has invited students back to campus and met all the requisite criteria for financial aid, said Mount-Benites.

“We will be eligible for all the funding we are entitled to because we’ve accomplished the objectives of reopening,” he said.

Mount-Benites anticipated that the district could receive between $900,000 and $1.2 million in financial aid which must be spent by June 2022. The money is earmarked for select services designed to accelerate learning for students who may have lost rigorous instruction while taking online classes.

The money can be spent on tutoring or other enrichment programs intended to get students back on track, said Mount-Benites. It can also be used to expand summer school programming.

To help teachers build their skills and ramp up the intensity of curriculum, Mount-Benites said the district is also planning to offer summer sessions of professional development.

The focus on accelerated learning and enrichment is part of a state initiative to discourage reliance on remedial classes for students whose learning stunted over the past year.

Regarding the district’s finances, Mount-Benites appreciated the laudatory remarks from trustees who admired his ability to keep cuts from the classroom while noting more work must to done to assure the district’s financial viability.

“It is hard and we don’t relish it but we have good financial standing for the next two years to address anything that comes our way,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com