Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to cut nearly $5 billion in education funding and to suspend Proposition 98 has forced many districts statewide to issue thousands of potential layoff notices to teachers and support staff. Now some La Jolla schools may have to make cuts in bus transportation that would change class times.
“California is the eighth largest economy in the world and yet in education funding we rank only 46th in the country,” said Dr. Terry Grier, San Diego Unified School District’s new superintendent, in a March 24 press release.
San Diego Unified School District board members proposed a $3 million transportation cut that would include busing at Muirlands Middle School and La Jolla High School (LJHS), said LJHS Principal Dana Shelburne. Members introduced the proposal to save the district money, but it would also entail a time-change at Muirlands “” the middle and high school have shared time schedules for years because they share athletic fields.
“Busing and transportation is the piece that’s wagging that part of the dog,” Shelburne said. “In 1987, the board voted unanimously to keep the bell the same.”
Since that time, the high school has sunk money into the baseball field, which is located on the Muirlands campus, Shelburne said. The high school uses the fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and baseball, but if the board’s proposal goes through, next year the middle school’s dismissal time will move from 2:10 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., affecting La Jolla’s athletic programs, he said.
“We’re going to have to keep playing up at Muirlands,” he said. “This is folly, because what good is a permanent board vote if they won’t follow up with it?”
Although Shelburne said six teachers and one counselor at LJHS received their pink slips, the $3 million saved by cutting transportation may not save his teachers anyway.
“Who knows where it would go?” Shelburne said. “There’s no guarantee the money would come back in this direction. The district has a number of areas they cut. And if the money does comes back, then where does it go?”
The board members will meet Friday, April 25 regarding the proposed transportation cuts in La Jolla.
“Next Friday we have a meeting with some of the decision-makers here, and I think once they see our physical plant, they’ll understand,” Shelburne said.