School district faces $400K loss

Del Norte County schools are facing a mid-year cut in state funding of about $400,000.

The majority of that reduction is for Del Norte County Unified School District’s transportation funding. A smaller portion is a $15 decrease in funding per student, said Deputy Superintendent Rodney Jahn.

On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown announced $1 billion in mid-year funding cuts to K-12 schools, higher education, public safety, and health and social services because California will collect less revenue than was estimated.

For K-12 education, $248 million will be cut. For community colleges, including College of the Redwoods, per-unit tuition fees will increase from $36 to $46.

Two unpaid furlough days are already scheduled for Del Norte teachers and administrators, and cuts have been made to classified positions in the district to prepare for the possibility of mid-year cuts, Jahn said.

“The trigger has been pulled,” he said.

But only one furlough may be necessary for employees. The district will be negotiating with the Del Norte Teachers Association on whether one or two furloughs are necessary in the coming week, Jahn said.

There’s still time for the state legislature to come up with a plan to deal with mid-year cuts. The district won’t get the official word on cuts until around Jan. 15, Jahn said, but it aims to be prepared.

“We just have to wait,” he said.

For the College of the Redwoods district, there’s no control over tuition fees as the state sets the rate, said Paul DeMark, the director of communications and marketing for CR.

“It’s affecting CR just like the 110 community colleges in the state,” he said.

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