Fremont School Budget Offers Peek At Effects of Sequestration

Sequestration has been a partisan issue. These are across-the-board cuts to certain federal programs. They occurred because elected officials in Washington, D.C., failed to come up with more nuanced efforts to address the federal deficit.

How does the issue play out locally?

Here are some figures from the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) interim budget presented on March 13 (click here to review the document).

What those figures tell you is another matter.

In the 2012 to 2013 fiscal year FUSD will have a $261 million general fund to pay for everything from teachers' salaries to electricity.

About $13.1 million of that money comes from the federal government.

In the 2013 to 2014 fiscal year the district's budget is currently projected to shrink to $256.5 million as some one-time funds evaporate.

The federal support component will diminish to $11.1 million.

But only half of that $2 million drop in federal funds is due to sequestration.

Half of the federal money lost results from the gradual winding down of stimulus funding -- something the district had anticipated.

Nevertheless, one way to look at the figues is to consider the entire $2 million; it amounts to less than a percent of the district budget.

Focus instead on just the sequestered $1 million, and that's less than half a percent of district spending.

But such an analysis fails to take note of how the federal money must be spent. 

Only $400,000 or so of the federal funds can be spent at the district's discretion. That is true for each of the two years in question.

The rest -- which is to say most of the money -- must be spent on two sets of programs:

• for students with special needs in the sense of mental or physical impairment; and
• for students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds or those who must still learn English.

These programs will split $10.7 million in the coming fiscal year versus $12.7 million in the current year.

Remember, only $1 million of that is a direct result of sequestration but nevertheless $2 million less is flowing toward these two sets of programs.

Does this make a difference to you?

Consider one last thing.

Services for special needs students are mandated by law.

It cost FUSD about $52.3 million to deliver such services in the current fiscal year. But only $32.6 million came in from all sources, state as well as federal.

That is a nearly $20 million shortfall -- call it an unfunded mandate -- that must be made up out of the district's general fund, thereby subtracting money from other programs.

What was your opinion on sequestration? Does any of this change your view?