Budget History

Funding Steadily Decreasing

State funding for public education was cut three years in a row:

• $11 million in 2009-10,
• $10 million in 2010-11, and
• $20 million this school year.

Though we are expecting a slight increase in state funding for next school year, the total reduction in SEG funding over four years is more than $30 million.

Four Straight Years of Budget Cuts

This school year, we cut $37 million from the operating budget.

• Schools cut 4.9 percent from their budgets
• Departments cut 12.8 percent from their budgets

The cuts resulted in the loss of nearly 400 positions. In three years, the district has cut nearly 1,000 positions.

In three years, we have reduced our operating budget by nearly $100 million. If we have to reduce our budget by the anticipated $5.3 million in 2012-2013, the cuts over four years will be about $105 million.

Student-Teacher Ratio

For regular education, the ratio of students to teachers continues to increase.

• In 2010-2011, class sizes were increased by an average of 2 percent.
• In 2011-2012, the average class size was increased another 5 percent, for a total over two years of 7 percent.

Keep in mind that these are average increases, so some classes may actually be smaller while others may be quite a bit larger.