Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the first draft of the 2024-2025 California budget, Jan. 10, which had been projected by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in December of 2023 to have a $68 billion deficit. This would have significant impacts on California and its spending in each department, regardless of the chosen reductions.
However, during his presentation, Newsom said that his office predicted a $37.89 billion deficit. According to Newsom, this disparity between deficits is based upon, as he stated, his less “pessimistic” take on the “state’s economic resilience” and its future revenue earnings. Newsom’s budget was based on his more positive estimate of the deficit, totaling up the overall revenue to $291.5 billion.
The January proposal did not have “any major reductions or pullbacks,” according to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. The most notable cut was a $500 million reduction from the School Facilities Aid Program, which provides funding for maintenance in K-12 schools. Overall, in comparison to the 2023-2024 budget of $129.2 million, the $126.8 billion allocated for all K-12 education programs in 2024-2025 would still permit schools financial stability despite the state deficit.
Principal Ernie Remillard said that although he is grateful for the consistency in education funding, the budget is still unpredictable for Westview and San Diego schools in general due to ever-changing factors.
“The financials for Westview [have] stayed pretty consistent over the last few years,” Remillard said. “But, ultimately, it’s all about how [the governor’s budget] is going to be distributed in the state, then to the school districts, then finally, to the schools. So, a lot could change during that process, especially since this isn’t the finalized budget.”
Remillard said that much of the funding for Westview would be specifically based on and distributed using the per-pupil rate. This year, the per-pupil rate was proposed to be $23,519, around $200 dollars less than last year.
“The per-pupil rate is the operating budget that [ascribes] the certain amount of money we get per student,” Remillard said. “This is anything from instructional supplies per student, like notecards, poster paper, [and] lab manuals [to] things like field trips. I’m waiting for that number to be finalized in a couple of months. This could fluctuate substantially or stay consistent. Either way, we are going to have to make some adjustments [and] decisions on how we spend that money when it does come in. It’s still very early in the process.”
Even if the budget does stay consistent with last year’s, Remillard still foresees difficulty in future funding.
“Consistency is good, but what we are feeling right now, particularly in Southern California, is that everything is costing a little more,” Remillard said. “So, even though the budget might be exactly the same, which it is evidently not, we are still going to end up feeling large impacts at Westview due to the rising cost of living here. The budget really needs to be adjusted for that change and that doesn’t really seem possible this year.”
Another challenge Westview and much of the Poway Unified School District (PUSD) are facing is decreasing enrollment, which affects the funds individually for each school.
“Our [enrollment] has been decreasing over the years, which changes the kind of funds that are coming into Westview,” Remillard said. “If we have fewer students, there will be less funding overall. Therefore, there’s the potential for some staffing changes in the future or the cancellation of certain courses.”
On top of the budget deficit, PUSD, as well as all other schools in California, will also be losing its COVID-19 Relief funding, a multi-billion-dollar grant given in 2020 aimed at assisting K-12 staff and students during the pandemic.
“We are starting to see the impact of losing our COVID funding,” Remillard said. “Every district in California used that money in different ways, but now, that money is no longer there. Having that money was [helpful] because it allowed us to be more flexible with our funds.”
A more finalized version of the budget will come in May before it takes effect for the coming fiscal year, starting on July 1. Remillard said it’s difficult to start allocating funds until the state allocates concrete numbers due to changes between the proposed, the revised, and the enacted budget, especially considering the disparity between deficit predictions.
“It’s really hard to say anything, since we are still at the very beginning of the process,” Remillard said. “We are waiting for May as a lot of things could go sideways at the state level in between these months.”
No matter the funding, whether it’s reduced, remains consistent, or even includes a surplus, Remillard said he will distribute the funds based on those at Westview and where it is needed most.
“The programs and classes our students take and the supplies they need for those will be of the utmost priority,” Remillard said. “I want all my teachers to have their basic needs to operate. It really all depends on our students and teachers where we allocate funds to, and it will only go to the necessary places.”
