The Palo Alto Board of Education discussed possible changes to the Palo Alto Unified School District’s summer school program during its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The board faces the challenge of keeping the program running as a cost-neutral venture, in accordance with historical board policy.

The 2008 summer school program produced losses of roughly $100,000, according to summer school representatives Barbara Lançon and Pat Dawson, and some board members think there may be even greater losses in store for 2009.

“I am a little worried that if we meet the same number [of funding dollars] that we were short this year [2008], it might not be enough [to cover next year’s potentially increased losses],” board member Melissa Baten-Caswell said.

Lançon outlined several possible solutions to the funding problem, such as raising summer school tuition and bus fees by 10 percent, cutting summer staff positions, and increasing summer school class sizes. Lançon estimates that these changes would save about $103,000 in spending for the program.

Lançon underscored the importance of these measures by discrediting the idea that the state government will help fund the summer school program.

“I certainly don’t anticipate that the state will give us more money,” Lançon said. “I think we need to look at how we can reduce some of our expenditures.”

On the optimistic side, Baten-Caswell hypothesized that, due to the summer school program’s high quality-to-cost ratio and the worsening economy, enrollment may increase in the near future.

“We’re very low on the price scale,” Baten-Caswell said. “We’re a great deal [for parents looking for inexpensive, educational summer programs for their children].”

The board decided to postpone putting this item up for action so that a more comprehensive budget proposal could be put together. Board members agreed that the issue of summer school funding would need a lot of thought.

“When you lose $100,000, I think we need to stop and take a little time,” board member Camille Townsend said.

Baten-Caswell returned to the issue of next year’s funding to sum up her viewpoint.

“I like the whole program, except I’d like to see something that gives us a little more breathing room if there’s a problem,” Baten-Caswell said.

Superintendent Kevin Skelly urged the board to act quickly in order to start the process rolling and then make adjustments along the way. The board, however, ultimately decided to bring the item back for more discussion when the budget proposal has been finalized.