On August 24th, 2017, the Board of Trustees, teachers, staff, and a few of Taft High’s business analysts came together to discuss the shrinking budget of the TUHSD. Ron Bennett, CEO for School Services of California, lead the meeting. After his introduction on previous budget cuts, Bennett referred to the school’s funding by stating, “You get about twice as much as any other district in California.” After explaining how well the district has been doing and the annual income, Bennett proclaimed, “You’re going to be eroding your ending fund balances.” This statement is in relation to the District SACS report which shows a projected 10% decline in ending funds from 2017 to 2020. Bennett explained, “When you have a high revenue it masks a lot of problems until you’re on the edge.” In other words, the more they get, the more they spend.

To help counteract this problem, Bennett suggested, “For declining enrollment, you’re going to have to match your staffing.” Although Bennett implied that there should be potential job/wage cuts to staff, he made sure to inform everyone that there are several other ways to modify the spending issue. It was also recommended that the district implement procedures to review and analyze enrollment, ADA, actuals against the budget on a monthly basis, and make budget revisions accordingly throughout the year.

After the meeting, one of the attendants, CTA President Mr. Wesley Morris, was interviewed regarding what his thoughts were on the meeting. Morris said, relieved and determined, “It’s nice to finally have some reliable data so we can begin negotiations and finalize a contract.”

TUHS has been around for over a century and, to the entire community, the thought of losing any part of it is devastating. Bennett closed his presentation with, “People in the district win and lose together.” Regardless of the outcome, once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat; we are all in this together and it’s up to us to change the future of our school.