Numerous budget cuts in the past month will affect the school’s site council, athletic department, classified staff and–indirectly–students.

According to principal Sandra Pearson, the first cuts made will effect the students. Prior to the cuts, Paly’s budget was approximately $101 per student in state categorical funds, according to Pearson. The cuts dropped the school’s budget to $95 per student, Pearson said. This money is used for simple supplies such as paper and, more importantly, school books. The current budget will reduce these items, Pearson said, but she said students probably won’t realize their losses.

Another cut that will take place is a decrease in the number of staff development days. There are usually three per year; starting next year there will be as few as none to one Pearson said.

The site council’s original budget of $50,000 is expected to be cut by about 20 percent next year, Pearson said. The budget is used to fund people in programs for students such as the ARC and Choral Music, and to supply foreign language aids. Some of these positions will be reduced or eliminated next year and could greatly effect students’ educational resources, Pearson said. The site council’s budget is also used to purchase high-tech equipment necessary in certain classes and there may be reductions here as well, Pearson said.

The athletic department is another category that will receive funding cuts. Previously, $20,000 was spent on maintaining athletic equipment and programs designed to promote healthy students. The funds will be cut in half, with the athletic department receiving only $10,000 from the district, Pearson said. However, the athletic department was prepared for an even larger cut, and teachers are not too worried. "We had planned for a $20,000 cut and are much happier with less of a cut," said Earl Hansen, head of the athletic department. "We are more worried about the year after next; we planned for next year and knew we were going to get hit."

Trying to stay away from making direct teacher cuts, the district had to look elsewhere and turned to classified staff. Prior to the cuts there were 23 classified Full Time Equivalent classified employees at Paly. The school has been forced to cut 1.5 FTE affecting about five people, Pearson said. This will include a complete elimination of an athletic assistant (.5 FTE), three reproduction technicians (.875 FTE), and a reduced computer lab specialist (.125 FTE). These people will be forced to look for work elsewhere. As for teachers, they’ll be spending more time making photocopies.

Though necessary, the cuts were not easily determined. "We tried to look as far away from the classroom as possible," Pearson said. "If we had to make cuts, we thought, well, what could we do without." For those staff members who are affected by this budget cut, all hope is not lost. There is something called "bumping rights," which may offer options to these individuals, Pearson said. Based on seniority, which is accumulated by how many hours one works, bumping rights place people in newly opened jobs. If a spot in another district school opens up, the employee with the most seniority may be "bumped" to fill the job. When that happens, another job opens up, creating a space for someone else. Almost like a chain reaction, bumping rights can be crucial during a time when people are being laid off.

Paly isn’t the only school faced with such hard decisions. Gunn High School will also face similar budget cuts. "We tried to have the cuts be equal at both Gunn and Paly," Pearson said. Just the same, firing someone is never easy, she said, no matter where they are employed: "It (firing someone) is very hard; to some people it came as a shock. Our goal is to find a place for everybody."