Does IUSD have to make cuts as a Basic Aid district?
Yes. IUSD needs to make significant reductions to remain fiscally solvent. Even as a Basic Aid district, IUSD will get far fewer dollars than it would have received in a normal year (as a Revenue Limit district). Remember, we’re only in Basic Aid because the state lowered per-student funding. And then there’s this unfortunate development: In June 2009, as a result of California’s fiscal crisis, pressure began mounting at the state level to further reduce the unrestricted budgets for districts that are funded under the Basic Aid formula. Rather than wait to see what plan legislators devised, a coalition of Basic Aid districts proactively submitted a “Fair Share” proposal, in which they agreed to contribute their “fair share” through categorical contributions. This proposal has cost IUSD millions of dollars, essentially negating any upside we might have enjoyed as a Basic Aid district. The bottom line is this: As a result of the precipitous drop in state funding, IUSD was forced to cut a
