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It’s not quite big brother, but the Berkeley Unified School District is on the county’s “watch” list. 

That’s because the district’s budget has had insufficient funds on reserve, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan said Friday. 

“The district has been walking on the edge,” she said, underscoring that it is not in danger of being taken over by the county, whose job it is to oversee the budget. The situation is not that bad, she said.  

“We’re below the state requirement for 3 percent in reserves,” acknowledged Superintend Jack McLaughlin, noting that the district put a good chunk of its funds into teacher raises last school year. Berkeley teachers had been the lowest paid in the county. 

He added that the situation could change when the first-of-the-school year child count comes in and classified and administrative salary hikes are determined. 

Jordan said the watch list is a prudent measure. “We work on the prevention side,” she said. 

“We’re going to OK (Berkeley’s) budget.” 

Dublin, Oakland and San Leandro districts are also on the “watch” list. 

While Jordan said BUSD needs to be cautious in its expenditures, she lauded the Berkeley schools for its programs.  

“It’s not to say they’re not doing wonderful things,” she said, pointing to the city’s busing program which creates an economic mix in the elementary and middle schools and blunts the divide that might otherwise occur between the lower income flatlands’ children and the higher income hills’ children. Paying the bus drivers, however, is an expense, she said. 

Jordan also lauded Berkeley’s low class size, innovative programs and its ability to support curricula that emphasizes racial and cultural diversity without sacrificing academic achievement. 

She also noted that special education has a “big encroachment” on the regular education budget.  

Jordan, a union activist when she was a special education teacher some years ago, said she would not deny the teachers their raises. “They were at the very bottom,” she said. “They clearly needed the raise.” 

County staff will continue to work with Berkeley staff to see in what areas expenses can be pared down, she said, underscoring, however, that “We don’t tamper with a school board’s autonomy,” except in a situation as in Emeryville where the county advisor plays a greater role. 

That school district required a $600,000 county bailout in the last fiscal year. A county-appointed financial advisor will remain in the district until financial stability is assured. 

McLaughlin said he doesn’t mind being on the “watch list.” 

“As far as I’m concerned, all the districts should be on the watch list,” he said.