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Schools keep bus funds but lose ADA

The Sonoma Valley Unified School District won’t lose an estimated $320,000 in transportation revenues from the state, but mid-year cuts are still going to cost the district.

Back in December, when the governor’s mid-year budget revise was released, the state was going to cut half the funds for home-to-school transportation, along with an additional $13 a student in average daily attendance (ADA) funding.

The legislature caught a lot of flak for the transportation funding cuts, so SB 81 restored the proposed cuts.

But it’s going to cost the district anyway because what the state put back on the transportation cuts, it made up for with additional ADA cuts.

According to a PowerPoint presentation by Deputy Superintendent Justin Frese for Tuesday night’s school board meeting, while the district won’t lose the transportation funds, the ADA cuts went up from $13 a student to $55 a student, which means the district will have to pay the state an additional $235,000 or so as part of its “fair share.”

Sonoma Valley is a basic aid district, meaning it gets its school funding from property taxes, as opposed to a revenue limit district where the state sets a baseline and then backfills between the baseline and what local taxes bring in. Therefore, when ADA cuts are made, the district has to send money to Sacramento as part of what is called a “fair share.”

This fiscal year, the district is sending Sacramento more than $2.8 million as its “fair share.”

As part of his fiscal briefing at the meeting, Frese will also inform the board about the governor’s budget proposal for the 2012-13 fiscal year that includes cuts in home-to-school transportation and a $370 ADA funding reduction if the governor’s proposed tax increase fails to pass.

An additional $370 ADA reduction would cost the district almost $1.6 million – and that’s on top of the so-called “fair share.”

Frese will also talk about a bill that has been proposed that would change the funding model for schools. That too would cost the district.

Also on Tuesday night’s agenda is an update on the Freshmen Team, contract proposals from the California School Employees Association and a facilities update, among other items.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at district offices, 17850 Railroad Ave.