Here are highlights from last Thursday’s school board meeting

Say goodbye to school sports, music classes and school-bus transportation, and hello to more crowded classrooms.

At least that’s the scenario facing Sacramento City Unified School District schools. Last week, the school board approved a brutal list of cuts totaling $28 million.

Sacramento News and Review, 2/9/12

Join your SCTA colleagues, parents, community members and students from our K-12 schools and adult education programs in a rally against this devastating budget that would wipe out:

• Music teachers
• School counselors at middle and high schools
• Librarians in middle and high school—librarians in lower grades have already been cut
• Adult education programs
• Stipends for sports coaches, yearbook advisers and band teachers
• Nearly all school-bus transportation

Sign making at SCTA Offices (5300 Elvas Ave) on Wednesday, February 15^th, 4:00 p.m.

For more info: www.rally4education.blogspot.com or  www.sacteachers.org

It is no secret that the biggest expense a school district has is teachers’ salaries and benefits. However, the total cost of teachers’ salaries and benefits for our District has remained almost unchanged for the last five years. A look at the numbers is revealing:

In 2006-2007 SCTA salaries were 40.68% of the District’s budget ($163,891,283) and benefits were 21.60%, for a total cost of 62.28 % of the District’s budget.

Last year, in 2010-2011, SCTA salaries were 38.49% of the District’s budget ($159,140.623) and benefits were 24.46%, for a total cost of 62.95% of the District’s budget.

Teachers’ salaries and benefits rose less than 1% of the District budget over the last five years. Why? The District has reduced the number of teachers. Class sizes have increased and positions have been eliminated. Even though health care costs have increased, the total teacher compensation for the District has remained virtually unchanged. The District is spending the same percent of its budget on teacher salaries and benefits as it did five years ago.

Now the School Board and Superintendent Raymond want to cut SCTA members’ salaries again to offset the Board’s refusal to consolidate underutilized schools and the mismanagement of funds on consultants. Even though SCTA members have each contributed $95 per month to lower class sizes and save SCTA members’ jobs, we now teach larger classes because the District did not spend the teacher’s contributions on reducing K-3 class sizes.

The truth is that teacher salaries and benefits actually cost the District the same percentage of the District’s budget as it did five years ago. SCTA members have not had a Cost of Living Adjustment in four years.

The District took our $95 with the promise of lower class sizes at the K-3 level, but instead used those funds for other purposes. The Sacramento Bee recently reported that the average SCTA member makes $4,476 less than the average California teacher. SCTA members’ salaries and benefits are not the problem. The School Board has refused to take action on school consolidations and mismanaged its OWN budget.