Like it or not, summer is over and the school year is back in session on Sept. 6. San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) trustee Scott Barnett — who represents the district’s beach-area schools — and Mission Bay High School (MBHS) Principal Fred Hilgers said there are good, bad and ugly changes that parents and students should be aware of for the upcoming school year. In the good news category, class sizes in grades K-3 will remain low, while school police services have been maintained and the school board restored more than $1 million to the district’s visual and performing arts program. Additionally, MBHS has expanded its international baccalaureate program, offering new courses in standard-level senior English, film arts, business management, a semiweekly advisory class and higher-level math courses, including a two-year study of calculus. The bad news? Recent layoffs have limited the number of staff members. “Individual schools will continue to see a diminution of funding due to over $90 million in cuts from the state of California,” said Barnett. “There will be approximately 400 less teachers than last year. In addition, there will be almost 1,000 less support staff, including bus drivers, attendance clerks and others.” MBHS was among the schools that felt serious repercussions from the budget cuts. “The biggest impact will be in clerical support. We cut deepest in those positions,” Hilgers said. “We currently do not have some key positions, which means that other staff will have to pick up other responsibilities. This may result in longer delays in copying, records requests and customer services. We are working hard to limit those impacts, but we did not want to impact classes.” Other changes include the loss of the high school’s dance program, limited library hours because of cuts in library staff and shifting junior varsity team practices to after school to allow for more teaching opportunities for students. State-mandated cutbacks have led to an ugly situation in enrollment and student transportation in schools throughout the district. MBHS’s enrollment projections are down by about 50 students this year. “We currently have 1,501 students enrolled. With cuts to transportation and with misperceptions about transportation, we could be down more, but we won’t know our attendance until school starts,” Hilgers said. “We have a team set up to call parents and support those who have lost transportation,” he said. “The district is participating in Schoolpool — a federally-funded program that encourages carpooling to school.” Another ugly situation facing the school system this year is the battle between the school board and teacher unions, according to Barnett. “The school board asked our employees’ unions to forgo future raises (negotiated by the past school board) in order to free up funds to save jobs, but, unfortunately, except for our school police, the unions representing teachers and support staff all refused to even open discussions,” Barnett said. “Sadly, we are already looking at over $50 million in higher costs in the 2012-13 year, due mostly to raises and other salary adjustments, which will require more cuts if the employee unions continue to refuse to negotiate.” Barnett and Hilgers have proposed solutions to counter the bad and ugly components facing schools in the upcoming year. Barnett and his colleagues on the school board are pursuing a number of initiatives to salvage funds and increase efficiency in San Diego schools. Initiatives include leveraging excess school property, reducing non-mandated busing and creating a series of “tiger teams” that take a critical look at district departments, review them and report back to the board to increase transparency about the district’s use of taxpayer dollars. At MBHS, Hilgers urges parents to help brace against the negative impacts that the school may face this year. “With the reduction of so many positions, now is the time to volunteer,” Hilgers said. To volunteer at Mission Bay High, contact Lourdes Mosqueda at (858) 273-1313, ext. 100. For more information or to offer suggestions, email Scott Barnett at [email protected]. To volunteer on a “tiger team,” visit www.sandi.net.