Ramona School District Among Four in San Diego County in Serious Financial Struggles

Ramona is among four school districts in the San Diego area that are at risk of being unable to meet their financial obligations over the next three years, according to a report issued by the California Department of Education on Tuesday.  

The department has published a list of districts that issued either "negative'' or
"qualified'' declarations for their finances in reports put out last December.

"Negative'' means the district will not meet its obligations during the current fiscal year and the two that follow. "Qualified'' means there is a risk of being unable to pay bills.

Superintendent Robert Graeff of Ramona Unified School District confirmed for Ramona Patch that Ramona is in the "qualified" list.

"RUSD is in very strong financial position this year," Graeff commented by email. "For 2011-12, the board has not yet completed the task of identifying which specific budgets to target in transferring the final $400,000 needed to safeguard against a worst-case budget scenario. In no way will the district struggle to meet its financial obligations this year or next year.

Graeff clarified, "The County Office where a district is seated has the legal authority and obligation to oversee a district's finances.  In San Diego County, the County is looking only at the current year and next year. I would hazard a guess that nearly every district in the state is upside down financially for 2012-13 if the Governor’s budget proposal is not approved by the Legislature and the People.

"In Ramona, our projected shortfall for 2011-12 is $2.1 million – which we will cover through layoffs and reserve funds. For 2012-13 (in a worst-case scenario), we may need to cut an additional $7.8 million from our $50 million budget, forcing us to explore additional layoffs, employee concessions, and an extensive cut to student programs."

The state Department of Education's "qualified'' list of 97 districts includes Borrego Springs Unified, Mountain Empire Unified, Ramona Unified and San Marcos Unified.

The department's report listed no San Diego-area districts among the 13 that issued "negative'' declarations. Such a declaration could lead to state intervention in a district's finances.

According to the department, the 110 districts in financial trouble encompass nearly 2 million students, or 30 percent of the total in the state.

The department compiles the financial reports from 1,032 school districts, county offices of education and joint powers authorities.

In San Marcos, the largest of the four districts with 18,000 students, the school board voted to increase the number of students in classes and issue 49 layoff notices to teachers for the next school year in an effort to close a $14 million deficit.