Page One

School district gets news of cash windfall

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Wednesday September 04, 2002

The state Legislature passed a bill last week that would forgive a $1.16 million state fine that the financially-strapped Berkeley Unified School District owes for being late with paperwork. 

The legislation, sponsored by state Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, directs Berkeley Unified to spend the $1.16 million on consulting services and reform efforts within the school district. 

The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Gray Davis, who vetoed similar legislation two years ago, arguing that it would set a dangerous precedent. But Aroner’s office negotiated the new legislation with the governor’s Department of Finance and expects Davis to sign it into law. 

“My presumption is, since the Department of Finance signed off on the bill... the governor will sign the bill,” Aroner said. 

The state fined the district $1.16 million after it failed to file a staff development form documenting several teacher training sessions by the state’s Oct. 31, 1999 deadline. The state required the form to reimburse school districts for the teacher development days. 

Berkeley Unified officials have acknowledged that the district’s staff was negligent when it failed to meet the deadline, but have long argued that late paperwork should not result in such a hefty fine. 

The Aroner bill, which passed the state Senate 22-10 Wednesday and the Assembly 60-18 Friday, assists school districts other than Berkeley Unified. It also forgives more than $700,000 in fines owed by the neighboring Emery Unified School District for its employment of two improperly certified teachers. 

The bill, AB 2859, also reduces the fines for any districts that in the future make the same mistake that Emery made. 

“The formula was way out of whack,” said Aroner. “Now the punishment fits the crime.” 

Aroner’s legislative director Hans Hemann said the Davis Administration’s recognition of the larger problems with the state’s formula for fines, laid bare by the Emery situation, contributed to its recent support for the bill. 

Previous attempts to deal with the Berkeley fine in isolation were not as compelling for the administration, he said. 

The Department of Finance did not return calls for comment. 

Berkeley Unified has already shelled out $580,000 in fine payments over the course of two years and is scheduled to pay the remaining $580,000 in the next two years. 

But if the Aroner bill becomes law, roughly $700,000 of the $1.16 million, including the money already paid to the state, would be redirected to the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, a state-sponsored fiscal adviser that has been working with the Berkeley Unified School District since last fall. 

FCMAT would use the $700,000 to develop a five-year district improvement plan by July 2003 covering several areas: instruction, financial management, facilities management, personnel management and community relations. 

The district would use the remaining $460,000 to implement reforms, with FCMAT providing a report on implementation by June 2005. 

The district, despite millions of dollars in cuts, still needs to make about $3 million in reductions to balance the 2002-2003 budget. Because it is still in the process of tightening its belt, Superintendent Michele Lawrence said the district plans to keep FCMAT in place at least through the end of the year.  

If the Aroner legislation passes, Lawrence said the district could use funds previously allocated for fine payments to cover its FCMAT bill, improving the district’s overall budget picture.  

Ultimately, Lawrence said, a better budget picture will benefit students. 

“It is in the best interests of the children of Berkeley and the state for [Davis] to sign this bill,” Lawrence said. “Penalizing children for the failure of adults makes no sense.” 

Neither Lawrence nor FCMAT officials said they could provide an accurate estimate of how much money the district has spent on FCMAT services and how much might be saved if the Aroner legislation passes. 

Davis has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill. 

 

Contact reporter at  

scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net