What budget cuts mean at one small school

01-13-2011

By Emily Alpert /Voice of San Diego

You've probably heard a lot about school budget cuts. And when you do, you usually hear big numbers like the $120 million that San Diego Unified estimates it has to slash from its budget. But to really understand what the cuts mean, I decided it was time to think small. Really small. Juarez Elementary is blink-and-miss-it small. Only 241 kids learn and play on its tiny Serra Mesa site. It's so small I accidentally drove past it the first time I went for a visit. Now it has just two weeks to decide how to live on nearly $125,000 less than it did this year, juggling decisions the school board normally has to reckon with. And I'm going to follow along with the school as it does. There are a few good reasons to think small. Seeing what the cuts mean at a single small school is easier to wrap your brain around than a bureaucrat's litany of cuts. Besides, many of the hard choices about what to cut won't be made at school board meetings this year. They'll be made at schools like Juarez. San Diego Unified this year is leaving decisions about what to cut to the schools. (more…)

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