Upvalley school districts are emerging relatively unscathed from recent state cuts to education, but Napa Valley Unified School District is feeling the pinch of a $5 million drop in state funding this school year.

Along with other local school districts, NVUSD is also likely to suffer mid-year state cuts. Still, school district officials — claiming that the recently passed state budget

didn’t fully address California’s financial woes — are more worried about anticipated slashes to education next year.

“I hate to put on my doom and gloom hat again, but I think in these tough economic times, education came out fairly reasonably. ... To not have the deficits that they were talking about was in many ways a huge boon to education, but we’re still not out of the woods,” said Debbie Brenner, NVUSD assistant superintendent for business services.

Brenner said there are no immediate plans to increase class sizes or lay off NVUSD staff, adding that it is too early to say whether employees will receive cost-of-living salary increases this year. In spite of shrinking state funding, she said, NVUSD discovered a bright spot in its financial outlook following the adoption of the state budget on Sept. 23. The district’s general fund — which bankrolls staff salaries and benefits — will draw an unanticipated $575,000 in cost-of-living increases from the state this year.

In the meantime, NVUSD is adopting policies to lessen the overall financial blow, including implementing a districtwide 30 percent funding cut for office and instructional supplies, not including textbooks.

NVUSD officials also recently canceled rural bus routes that they say suffer from low ridership, including one serving Carneros and another serving Wooden Valley. Brenner said resulting savings will total about $135,000.

Finally, NVUSD officials are launching energy-saving campaigns at district campuses, where students will be encouraged to reduce their “carbon footprints” by using less energy.

“We tried really hard not to affect the classroom and not affect staff,” said Brenner. “We looked at the right places to tighten our belt ... and (ensure that) students will still have the same quality of education.”

Even so, NVUSD will spend about $1.5 million more than its total budget of about $116.2 million this year, Brenner said, adding that the district plans to dip into savings from previous years to help offset the deficit.

Upvalley

The new state budget will have “very little effect” on the four Upvalley school districts — including Calistoga, St. Helena, Howell Mountain and Pope Valley — according to Jeff Johnson, Calistoga Joint Unified School District superintendent.

Although CJUSD receives a fraction of its funding from the state, the area’s high property tax base translates to the state budget having a relatively modest impact on Upvalley school districts.

About 83 percent of Calistoga’s $10.3 million budget is funded by property tax revenue generated in the area, while the remainder comes from federal and state funding, Johnson said. Relatively low student populations also help to keep Upvalley school districts in the black, he added.

“We’re very cognizant of how fortunate we are, and we’re also very cognizant of the dilemma that other districts are in. ... We feel like we’re all in the same boat with this thing,” he said.

Like Calistoga, about 84 percent St. Helena Unified School District’s $20.5 million budget comes from property taxes, said Catrina Howatt, the district’s chief business official.

But because St. Helena receives some funding from state, federal and local sources, she said, the district is cutting back on replacing computers and school supplies in anticipation of possible upcoming state cuts.

“We were told yesterday to expect mid-year cutbacks. ... But when you hit January and February, you’ve spent most of your money. So that’s the big challenge we face,” she said. “The effect of them wouldn’t be as dramatic as in other school districts, but it could hurt. ... It is a balancing act of how to get (enough) resources out there but not jeopardize the school’s position.”

Meanwhile, the Napa County Office of Education’s approximately $36 million total budget is “pretty close to what it was last year,” said NCOE Superintendent Barbara Nemko.

But NCOE is not without challenges because most of its funding comes from federal and state grants, Nemko said.

“One of the biggest shortfalls that we’re facing is in the court and community school budget for this year. This year, we got together with police, the sheriff’s office, the probation department ... and they helped us with some of those positions, but they’re hurting as much as we are. Next year, we’re going to have to come up with some serious grant money,” she said.

Like other area districts, NCOE is receiving reduced or no cost-of-living adjustments from the state for various funds covered by its annual budget.

Napa Valley College

Although Napa Valley College Vice President of Business and Finance Scott Miller said the college is not immediately facing state cuts, its categorical funds — which are earmarked for specific programs — will not see increases this year.

Miller said the college’s nearly $100 million total budget — most of which consists of general fund and Measure N bond proceeds — is about what it was last year. Still, he is wary of the outcome of next year’s state budget.

“This state budget didn’t really address the problems we face in the state. ... We feel the potential for mid-year cuts is very high. We also anticipate that next year’s budget could indeed be worse that this year’s budget because the state can’t push these issues off year after year,” he said.

No plans for staff layoffs, hiring freezes or class discontinuations are in the works, Miller said, although college administrators may decide to hold off on filling some vacant positions in an attempt to reign in costs. 

The recently adopted state budget “addresses California’s $15.2 billion budget shortfall with a combination of cuts and increased revenues,” according to a statement from the governor’s office. Cuts to NVUSD represent part of a $4.8 billion reduction in public education funding statewide.