Budget Cuts Announced: Berkeley School District

BERKELEY, CA — The Berkeley School Board has approved $2 million in budget cuts for next school year. In a letter to the community, Board Vice-President Beatriz Leyva-Cutler said, "Our goal in prioritizing budget reductions is to minimize the direct effects on the classroom experience of our students by making most of the cuts at the administrative level."

While not outlining targeted positions, Leyva-Cutler pointed out that in the past two years the district has:

• Eliminated position of Director of BREA (Berkeley Research and Evaluation and Assessment)
• Eliminated position of Director of Programs and Special Projects
• Reduced position of Director of Student Services to Manager level
• Consolidated administration of Independent Study & Berkeley Technology Academy (BTA)
• Reduced administrative staff and costs for Transitional Kindergarten by moving classrooms back to elementary school sites
• Reduced safety officer positions at Berkeley High while maintaining strong overall student support staffing
• Reduced staffing at BTA to align with current enrollment while keeping small class sizes
• Eliminated two support staff positions at the District office
• Reduced legal and consulting budgets at the District office
• Reduced budget for travel and supplies at the District office

Meanwhile, each 1% pay raise for teachers and other personnel costs the District approximately $1 million annually.

Leyva-Cutler encourages local residents to lobby their state legislators for more education funding. Her letter was sent on behalf of the Board and the District.

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