The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) could save about $70 million over the next two years if school board members weren’t paid for a couple months and the entire school district were to be shut down for about two school weeks out of the year, according to SDUSD Board of Education member John de Beck. Standing in the hallways of the Eugene Brucker Education Center Auditorium on Normal Street on Friday, de Beck said his proposal would save the district enough money to stave off the closure of several elementary schools that have the lowest enrollment numbers — a proposal currently under consideration by the board. Two beach-area magnet schools — Barnard Elementary in Point Loma and Crown Point Elementary in Pacific Beach remain on a list of six schools considered for closing in the face of an estimated $50 million district budget shortfall. “[Closing] small schools would be off the table with this plan,” De Beck said. He urged the school board to declare a fiscal emergency and to direct Superintendent Terry Grier to “do what it takes” to save $36 million a year while still avoiding teacher layoffs. The idea for a mandatory shutdown of the district includes unpaid furloughs for teachers, administrators and all but a skeleton crew of maintenance workers and school police. Board member pay reductions would save an estimated $15,000 over two years, according to de Beck. Closing the school system down for nine days would save almost $40 million a year, he said. Although de Beck’s plan lacked details, he said part of the savings would come from savings in water and electric bills during the closure. District board member Richard Barrera also attended the press conference Friday and called de Beck’s plan irresponsible and wrong. He said he wouldn’t support de Beck’s “symbolic” gesture to reduce pay for board members. Board members receive about $1,500 a month. “We need to get a hold of managing our own money a lot more effectively before we go out to students and parents and say, ‘We’re going to cut school days that your kids need,’” Barrera said. He said any reduction in classroom time would affect teachers’ salaries and require renegotiations with the teachers’ union. De Beck blamed the current economic crisis on the California state legislature’s failure to resolve the state budget. He said the economic pain for the school district would get worse next year and urged action. “The cumulative effect of not doing anything for this year would be disastrous,” de Beck said. He said money-saving decisions should be made by March 15, when the district commits to paying next year’s employee salaries. The SDUSD Board of Education will meet Monday, Jan. 26 and Tuesday, Jan. 27, at the Eugene Brucker Education Center, 4100 Normal St. to begin budgeting plans. For more information, call (619) 725-5550.
