Just a few short days after Long Beach voters declined to allow an annual $92 parcel tax for the next five years to help a financially ailing school district, Long Beach Unified School District superintendent Chris Steinhauser says that he and his staff are exploring all available avenues to reduce costs and pursue new sources of funding.
Primarily, the district will explore cutting or suspending school programs, possible teacher layoffs, continued pursuit of grants and additional outside funding sources, and even some ambitious plans such as the possibility of becoming a Charter district.
“We are looking at every single method that’s available to us,” Steinhauser said, in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
Due to heavy state budget withholdings, the district has been forced to cut more than $100 million from its budget over the next two years, and funds from the proposed parcel tax – Measure T – were meant to ease, but not solve, that burden. Measure T received just 43% voter approval, and needed two-thirds.
Now, the LBUSD faces a future of extreme belt-tightening. Steinhauser says they’ve been preparing for this moment for some time.
“Measure T would have lessened the pain of what we have to do,” he said. “We’ve been doing multiple things in the last couple of months anyway to prepare for it. This has been a longtime process.”
Harsh actions will need to be taken.
In October, the district sent an e-mail to more than 900 teachers to ask them questions about seniority and their professional history. There was speculation that the letter was being used to determine which teachers would be laid off, and Steinhauser did not deny that firings will be necessary.
The district is currently in the process of determining which teachers are eligible to receive retirement incentive packages that would provide them with steady income for several years if they are let go.
Steinhauser also said that the cutting and suspending of “certain programs that are dear to our hearts” is imminent.
On the other hand, the superintendent and his staff are also aggressively pursuing additional funding options, including applying for grants and moving forward legislation that would make California schools eligible for federal “Race To The Top” funding. That bill recently passed the State Senate and is currently moving through the Assembly.
“We always have been [aggressive in pursuing funding],” Steinhauser said. “And we’ve been very successful, to be honest with you.”
Other funding options include I-3 grants – the “I” stands for Innovation – that would be applied for jointly with the Fresno Unified School District and College Board non-profit, as well as grants for struggling districts that could net between $50,000 and $100,000.
“The problem with grants is that you’re restricted in how you can spend them,” said Steinhauser, who noted that the LBUSD has been working hard to push for legislation that provides districts with more spending flexibility.
“We’ll never give up until we get 100-percent flexibility,” he said. “We’re not asking for more money, we’re just asking for more flexibility in how we use it. We can’t always spend the way we would like to spend on different programs.”
For instance, he said, the district would be penalized heavily if they swayed from strict restrictions on class size.
As for the idea of switching from operating as a public district to a charter district, Steinhauser says his staff is currently exploring the pros and cons of such a move – although any definitive action would not be taken anytime soon.
A petition must be brought before the State Board with 51% approval of teachers in the district, and that cannot happen until at least one year from now. Steinhauser also says that he’s sure there are drawbacks to such a move that he isn’t currently aware of.
On the plus side, the district would be able to apply for certain grants and funding that are made available only to charter districts.
“We are actively looking for any opportunities,” he said.
While the district faces internal financial struggles, the outside world has begun to take notice. The LBUSD was recently named a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education for the second consecutive year, and gladly accepted the $250,000 that comes with that designation.
In July, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell proudly paraded the LBUSD as one of the state’s premier systems, in an attempt to appeal to federal interests that will determine which states receive Race To The Top funding.
Meanwhile, district officials have been asked to attend a national education conference to share the successes of their Profession Development Project for teachers and administrators.
“We have a lot of good practices here,” says Steinhauser, “And if we can share those, we’re happy to help others and learn from them as well.”
The never-ending learning process continues as the district struggles to right itself in the face of a troubling financial storm. Steinhauser believes that public education in Long Beach will remain strong, but at the moment, isn’t sure exactly how.
“This district will always be a great district. We always put the needs of the kids first and we’ve always been fiscally sound,” he says.
“At the same time, we need to change in order to keep this ship moving forward, because our kids depend on it and their parents depend on it.”
Disclosure: lbpost.com publisher Shaun Lumachi was a consultant to the Parents, Teachers and Taxpayers for Safer Schools – Yes on Measure T campaign.