State Schools Chief Tells LBUSD, Other Districts Friday: Tax Extension or $4.5 Billion Cut

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Friday warned Long Beach Unified and other school districts to brace for uncharted waters in public education should temporary tax extensions not be approved. He set the damage at up to $4.5 billion statewide.

At a Monday news conference, Torlakson will lead numerous school superintendents in calling on state lawmakers to swiftly put a referendum before voters, so that they can decide on funding education with tax extensions. On Friday, he said bluntly: Prepare for the worst.

Without an extension, he said, an "all-cuts" budget could force the
state to cut school spending by as much as $4.5 billion or 10 percent of
the K-12 annual budget. To read the entire release, please go to:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr11/yr11rel23.asp.

At 86,000 students, 100 schools and 8,000 employees, Long Beach is the third largest district in California and Long Beach's largest employer. LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser on Wednesday publicly supported Gov. Jerry Brown's budget, urging the California Legislature to pass it. http://patch.com/A-fFS7

On Friday, Torlakson stated: "Californians cherish their schools. Before we miss the chance to help our state's 6.2 million schoolchildren weather this financial emergency, people have a right to know the consequences."

In the letter to county school superintendents, Torlakson noted that the time is perilously running short for putting the tax extension referendum on the state's June ballot.

Torlakson warned that without an extension, an "all-cuts" budget could force the state to cut school spending by as much as $4.5 billion or 10 percent of the K-12 annual budget. He urged officials to assess the impacts now.

The letter is by no means a change of position for Torlakson. Two months ago he declared a state of financial emergency in California's schools, which he said have suffered $18 billion in cuts over the last three years; that figure is equal to roughly a third of yearly K-12 school spending statewide.

Locally and separately, the Long Beach School Board released late Friday its agenda with a resolution that would formally support placing the "revenue extension measure" on the state ballot. 

The Legislature is mulling Brown's state budget plan for 2011-2012. As of Friday, a handful of Republican lawmakers had put forth a demand list covering pension reform (which Brown was discussing Friday, according to the Sacramento Bee), education reform and a few other items. 

The Long Beach Board of Education will consider on Tuesday whether to support the governor's plan.