SFUSD Faces Big Budget Cuts: Your Immediate Advocacy at the Federal, State & Local Level Can Help!
Even before COVID-19 closures began, SFUSD was facing budget cuts and increasing deficits over coming years. Now massive state and local budget deficits have severely magnified the budget crisis for schools throughout the state and country.
In SFUSD, based on current estimates, without additional Federal recovery funds, the Governors current proposal would result in $84.5 in cuts for FY 20-21 and $147.7M in FY21-22 even after SFUSD implements $44M in proposed cuts and cost savings. The Legislature has proposed an alternative which would still result in $29.2M in additional cuts for FY20-21, and $70.9 in FY21-22.
Here are five things YOU can do to help our schools:*
Contact your state representatives. SFUSD favors the Legislatures proposal which would avoid a 10% cut to state education funding. Contact your elected state representatives and let them know how cuts will impact your school and that schools need more, not less funding in the wake of COVID-19. To find your representatives, click here. You can also sign this petition and quickly send an email to your representative using this template from the California School Boards Association. DO THESE FIRST! A DECISION WILL BE MADE BY JUNE 15.
Advocate for more federal funding. Contact your federal representatives and ask them to support the HEROES ACT and that it should include an additional $200 billion in federal funds for schools. Unless Congress acts, schools will experience major budget cuts triggered by the pandemic. You can also use this quick template.
Ask your friends and family in red states to advocate for more federal funding for education. Send them these links! The House has passed a version of the HEROES act but the Senate has not.
Help pass the Schools and Communities First initiative, which is on the November ballot. This could raise about $11.5 billion each year for our schools and communities. Click here to volunteer.
Send a note to your supervisor advocating for some ERAF funds to go to SFUSD. Find your supervisor here. Let them know that the school board passed a resolution to ask the Board of Supervisors to allocate some of the excess Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (“ERAF”) monies the City has received to the school district because we cannot risk the harm that the cuts will have on our students.
Without additional Federal recovery funds, Governor Newsom’s current proposal would result in $84.5 in cuts for FY 20-21 and $147.7M in FY21-22- even after SFUSD implements $44M in proposed cuts and cost savings. The Legislature has proposed an alternative which would still result in $29.2M in additional cuts for FY20-21, and $70.9 in FY21-22.
*Thanks to the California PTA, Second District PTA, and California School Boards Association for these advocacy resources
Learn more about SFUSD’s Budget
Declines in city revenues will impact local funds SFUSD receives to support sports, libraries, arts, translation, student and family supports, Restorative Practices and many other services.
View the presentation from the June 3, 2020 Budget and Business Services Committee meeting for details of the budget timeline, projections and specific proposed reductions.
See a summary of all the discussion in our live-tweet coverage from June 3!
Browse the SFUSD FY 20-21 Budget Book introduced at the June 9th Board of Education meeting. The proposed budget will be discussed in depth on Tuesday June 16, 2020 at the Committee of the Whole meeting (3PM on Zoom) and is scheduled to be voted on by the board on June 23, 2020. The Budget Book includes a great overview of all the different funding sources as well as details of all the proposed allocations to central office as well as each individual school site. It also contains a breakdown of staff positions at each site provided through the district’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support which provides additional staff to schools based on determined need. This includes positions such as nurses, social workers, wellness staff, and literacy coaches along with many other positions.
Explore the FY20-21 Budget Dashboard. This is an interactive version of the budget.
From Ed100 https://ed100.org/blog/will-school-budgets-survive
Learn more about the state and federal education budget landscape
State funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) makes up 89% of SFUSD’s budget. The governor has proposed cutting LCFF by 10%.