County education officials review plan for VUSD raises
By: STACY BRANDT -- Staff Writer | ∞
VISTA ---- County education officials have said they approve of Vista Unified School District's plan to pay for a 6 percent raise for all of its employees, though they have advised the district to keep a close eye on its money, officials said Wednesday.
In November, the district sent the San Diego County Office of Education a letter detailing Vista Unified's plan for funding the new contracts, which includes increased salaries and heath benefits expected to cost the district an additional $7.5 million annually.
County officials responded a week later, acknowledging that they had reviewed the funding plan and pointing out that the district may be forced to make budget cuts in the future to pay for the increased costs.
Lora Duzyk, assistant superintendent of business services for the County Office of Education, said the back-and-forth letters are standard practice and that all school districts must inform the county about projected budget increases.
In terms of Vista Unified's benefits, Duzyk said: "We're comfortable with what they're doing. We're just cautioning them that, in the long term, if their expenditures are exceeding their revenues, they're going to have to do some budget adjustments.
The district doesn't expect to have any problem paying for the raises, said Pam Hayden, the disrict's chief financial officer.
"We wouldn't have put the dollars on the table if we didn't think we could maintain them," Hayden said.
In April 2004, county officials threatened to intervene in Vista Unified's finances, saying there were "serious concerns about the district's ability to meet its financial obligations" for that fiscal year. The move came after four years of severe budget cuts and few raises for district employees.
Since then, however, Vista Unified's financial picture has improved considerably. The district has had balanced budgets for the last three years, partly thanks to an increase in money coming in from the state.
On Dec. 12, the Vista school board adjusted its $223 million 2006-2007 budget to include an extra $5.4 million in revenue from federal, state and local agencies. Some of that money, combined with $1.9 million the board agreed to take from the reserve fund, will pay for a large chunk of the salary and benefits increase.
The recent county letter was written by Linda Visnick, executive director of district financial services for the county Office of Education. In the letter, Visnick questions whether the 25,000-student district will be able to sustain the higher salaries without budget cuts, in light of declining enrollment.
"We encourage the district to carefully monitor budgeted funds and ADA (average daily attendance) projections," the letter states.
Hayden said the district has been dealing with declining enrollment for the last seven years and doesn't expect any surprises in the near future.
"It's not something that we're unaccustomed to," she said. "We've learned to deal with it."
Because most of the figures so far are only projections, Duzyk said cuts may not be necessary. However, the situation is something the district and county will have to keep an eye on, she added.
The county letter pointed out that if the district continues to use money from its reserve fund, it could eventually dwindle below the amount called for by the state. The state requires all districts to keep at least 3 percent of their budget in a reserve fund, though districts often try to save more.
Vista Unified currently has a $12.3 million fund balance, almost double the 3 percent required by the state.
"That's our bank account," Hayden said.
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 631-6622 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
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To the SDCOE wrote on Jan 4, 2007 2:37 PM:was wondering if the SDCOE is aware of the VUSD's plan to use Certificates of Participation to help fund the Melrose project? This will take even more money from the classrooms. Also, with classes starting at Rancho Minerva later this month how long do you think it will take for the first incident to happen that will lead to a lawsuit against the District? It won't necessarily have to be an accident but if the slowed traffic caused by the congestion around the school delays emergency equipment from reaching a fire or heart attack victim rest assured the VUSD will be sued. Where will the money come from for the legal expense and the payment to the victims' families?
Question, to the SDCOE wrote on Jan 6, 2007 1:47 PM:Do you have any hard information on VUSD's planning to use COP's to fund Melrose? If so, SDCOE should be notified, since VUSD has said they weren't going to do this. I'm not doubting you; after all, they don't always stick to what they say!
To Questioner of 1-6-07 wrote on Jan 6, 2007 7:14 PM:If you will access the VUSD web site and click on the Bond Oversight Committee then on the meetings and minutes and pull up the most detailed of the monthly reports called the Exception Report from the 11-28-06 meeting you will see that between the spent funds and the encumbered funds the District has already tied up $80.1 million on the Melrose project. On that same report you will note that the cost forecast for the project is listed at $82.3 million leaving approximately $2.2 million left. Some of the unfunded expenses include the following: the Melrose intersection and the pedestrian overpass bridge, the removal of the hill (Hillcrest Homes is not going to take it down) including the SDG&E costs related to the high-pressure gas pipeline. Also, the great majority of the environmental mitigation expenses for both the Melrose and Darwin locations have not been accounted for. There is a lot more including the fact that everyone agrees that this will be a two year job and history has shown that on a job this large there are always unexpected expenses that pop up and will have to be paid. The VUSD only has two choices to find the money to pay for all of these known and unknown expenses: ask the taxpayers to approve another bond or take it from the general fund. If the District really thought another bond would pass it would already be working on it. In 2006 either Gibson or Guffanti made a motion to require a super majority to use general fund money and it was defeated by the normal 2 to 3 vote. What is even more frustrating is that with the continuing drop in enrollment the need for this school is very questionable.
Vista Teacher wrote on Jan 7, 2007 10:13 AM:Too Little Too Late. SDCOE should have investigated VUSD's Pay Raises to Administration two years back, but chose not to. That was when Carol Herrera was clearly told by VTA that she would not be supported because of her voting for huge administrative pay raises while not supporting Teacher pay raises. Of course VTA then went back on their threat and supported Herrera in this last election. You wonder why many of us Teachers don't trust our own Union? That said, VUSD claims to have $12.3M in reserve, but I can assure you this is based on projections and NOT actual dollars in the bank! This is the same way Enron manipulated their books, AND it is illegal (fraud)! SDCOE should audit VUSD books and they will see that the numbers just don't add up. With the continued drops in enrollment, that VUSD is only just beginning to admit, the "projected" $12.3M reserve will decrease dramatically to well below the 3% required by law. The projection is based on assumptions of enrollment growth and increased ADA funding resulting in an increased Budget. But, VUSD's annual budget is not growing, as enrollment continues to drop, and pay continues to rise. Also, as VUSD continues to open new schools they have to hire more teachers, thus leaving even less in reserve. So SDCOE, don't just send letters cautioning VUSD about these raises, send auditors to demand opening the books! Then, once complete, send your findings to the Grand Jury.
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