School District Could Lose $11.5M if Brown's Budget Plan Fails

The Poway school district could lose an estimated $11.5 million in funding for the 2011-12 school year if voters don't approve tax extensions in Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget, Superintendent John Collins said Tuesday.

However, a sizable reserve would likely prevent the district from having to make cuts even if the proposal fails, Collins said.

"We must remain very, very cautious about all of this," Collins said during Tuesday's board meeting.

On Jan. 10, which he trumpeted as requiring no further cuts to education if voters agree to extend for five years a series of expiring taxes. But even if the extensions are approved, the plan reduces by $19 the amount of funding per student in the 2011-12 year, equalling a $640,000 cut, Collins said.

"We can deal with that," he said.

If the legislature does not agree to put the tax extensions—which include —up for a June vote, or voters do not pass them, district funding could drop by $11.5 million to make up for lost state revenue, Collins said.

The extended taxes are projected to bring in $9 billion, $2.3 billion of which would go toward education. The Poway district's share—$11.5 million—amounts to $330 per student, Collins said.

The district has in federal stimulus funds, in addition to other reserves, which would help prevent further cuts next year, officials have said. But by 2012-13, the district will need additional money or else it will face more reductions, Collins said.

Other notes from the meeting:

• The board recognized five students who received perfect scores of 2400 on the SAT, including junior David Hu. Seventy-six students districtwide received a perfect score of 800 on at least one of the test's three sections, officials said.
• Abraxas High School student Jason Noles also was recognized for being the creator of the cartoon strip that runs weekly on Poway Patch.