San Luis Coastal starts school with fewer budget cuts than most area districts

Posted: Aug 25, 2010 6:20 PM by Nancy Chen
Updated: Aug 26, 2010 10:19 AM

Crayons, chalkboards and some crying--that can only mean one thing.

It was the first day of school for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District today.

Emotions were high, and patience was low at C.L. Smith Elementary School in San Luis Obispo.

"It's as big a day as it gets so far in their lifetimes, so it's pretty special," said Amy Shields, the principal of the school. "A little scary for them but really special."

It's a time of transition for both the district and its students.

The district is doing better than most when it comes to weathering the state budget crisis; students at San Luis Coastal have been relatively insulated from the deep budget cuts affecting other area districts.

That's because it's a "basic-aid" district, which means it's mostly funded through local property taxes. That means substantial tax revenue from Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which is in the district's boundaries.

The district's new superintendent Eric Prater says the basic-aid standing, however, is controversial and could disappear.

"Regardless of the basic-aid status, we're all concerned," Prater said. "We're all worried about what it means because at this point, the state of California is uncertain."

The district kept the 28 cuts to this year's $74 million budget as far away from the classroom as possible, but it still needs help.

"I think we're all tightening our budgets and reaching out to our parents to support us more with school supplies," Shields said.

The district says it didn't cut any employees when it was trying to shrink its budget. Instead, they didn't fill 15 positions left open after 21 retirements last year.

The school district also cut spending by not funding post-retirement benefits and reducing its adult education program as well as cutting the number of new textbooks.