School budget slashed

"In my 15 years since I've been here this is the worst I've seen," Superintendent Ron Crates told a board room packed with parents.

Crates said only two school districts in the county get less money than the Redwood City School District, which receives $4,511 per student. Portola Valley School District receives the most money per student, $8,218.

That inequity, coupled with Sacramento-bound property taxes and the halving of state Proposition 98 money supposed to go to schools, brought the district to its knees.

"I'm trying to be as prudent as possible and as fiscally responsible as possible," said Crates, who said he looks two years ahead in the budget.

"We don't have an expenditure problem, we have a revenue problem," he said.

Teachers and parents took the news surprisingly well Wednesday night, the blow possibly softened by Crates' letters to district parents and his meeting with 600 of them, he said.

The board had made cuts before, Trustee Alicia Aguirre said, "This just feels like we're bleeding to death."

The San Jose Mercury News reported earlier this week that Aguirre said part of the board's strategy was to make drastic cuts so the public would take notice and support a parcel tax.

She said Wednesday night, "There is no strategy tonight to benefit the passage of a parcel tax."

Magdalena Gallegos, who represents parents at Hoover Elementary, said through a Spanish translator she did not want the board to eliminate teachers.

"We ask that you let us keep our teachers. At least leave us with what we have," she said.

The board is banking on an $85-a-year parcel tax to be placed on the ballot and passed this spring to rehire the teachers and reinstall programs.

Jennifer Charles, president of the Redwood City Teachers Association, said she opposed the district eliminating class-size reduction, and said voters need to pass the parcel tax.

"We don't want to lose any of our members," Charles said.

The 550-teacher group passed a resolution Dec. 6 supporting the parcel tax, and Charles said it would meet with Crates Dec. 14 to discuss how the parcel tax would be spent if passed.

If the tax does not pass, "I don't even want to think about that," she said.

Stephen Baxter can be reached by e-mail at stephen@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.