Local decisions guide S.D. Unified budget
By Maureen Magee/San Diego Union Tribune
Central Elementary School would cut 13 teachers. Lewis Middle School would sacrifice a librarian, health aide and counselor. Some counseling services, a college preparation program and several classes would be scrapped at Scripps Ranch High School. The San Diego school board has until June 30 to balance its budget. But some 200 schools throughout the district have already pared down their staffs and education offerings for next year in the name of a new hyper-local site-based budget system. Last week, all schools were to have submitted a budget with cuts to help the San Diego Unified School District offset a projected deficit that ranges wildly from $63 million to $120 million. The district operating budget is about $1.1 billion. (more...)