portation garage. “What can we do to somehow reign in our expenses but still provide the service?” Te fact


remains that the legisla-


tion only reduces LAUSD’s deficit by $14 million. And should voters again reject property tax increases come this November, the abyss will only deepen amid LAUSD’s total $557 million deficit for 2012-2014. Gov. Brown’s proposed budget for 2012-2013 already eliminates early education, so all cuts are on the table, including those to transportation. For starters, transportation has al-


ready increased the radius distance to three miles from two for all magnet and charter school students in grades six through 12. Maximum ride times were also increased 15 minutes to an hour and a half, which also affect special needs students. All others would have to walk or be transported by parents. “Transportation needs efficiencies via bus


replacement,


to leverage fuel


savings, staff savings, to help streamline procedures to make service more effec- tive. We have a big challenge, so many uncertainties as a district as a whole, transportation specifically,” said Wilkes. “We’ve got a plan; as a district how do we support that? What do we have to elimi- nate? We’ve got a big dependence on the tax initiative pushed by Gov. Brown.” LAUSD also hopes to include a parcel


tax initiative on either the local June or November ballot that would generate $200 to $300 million for the district over the next five years, that is if it is approved by a two-thirds majority vote. If defeated, Boull’t decried cuts that would be “ugly” and “a disservice to the students, whether


they are


transported or not.” “Tere is a major attack on home-


to-school transportation as it exists today in California,” he added. “School bus could go extinct without support from the public. Whether rural or urban, there are so many activities students benefit from that school buses provide. We’re having to look at the impact on buses for athletic teams, which also impacts the ability of students to participate on field trips that augment the educational day in the classroom. We are truly a


crossroads for funding education in this district.” Under this threatening blanket of


looming cuts, which include $2.5 bil- lion in reductions already implemented since the 2008-2009 school year, it re- mains nothing short of amazing that LAUSD could keep busing alive at all. While other school districts in Southern California, especially in the more afflu- ent suburbs of south Orange County, are charging school bus ridership fees, LAUSD must, too, find another way. “Tat is not an option,” said Boull’t,


who until last year was the director of transportation before taking over as interim COO, a title that was made per- manent over the summer. Eight of every 10 students enrolled


in LAUSD schools qualify for free or re- duced lunch, so Boull’t said the district is taking an “out of the box” approach at improving revenue to keep programs alive. One of those ideas is to sell ad- vertising on the sides of transportation white-fleet or work vehicles. A district prohibition on school bus


advertising due to student safety and messaging concerns, however, means that contracts can be opened up to or- ganizations and companies that might be inappropriate for the yellow bus but still a good fit for a school district, such as professional sports teams and financial institution partners. And the windfall for the district could be $5 mil- lion over the next five years. “Tat could help offset some cuts to


athletic transportation, for example,” said Boull’t. “We’re pursuing lots and lots of activities that can help specific programs, such as the arts. We need to get creative. Sponsorship is really a big component of that.” Saving student services also means


saving jobs for the 2,200 transportation employees, including nearly 1,800 drivers, two-thirds of which are district employees. Boull’t said that all parties, including the transportation staff, the unions and other educational organizations aligned with the district, have done a “marvelous job” or working together


straits of home-to-school


to communicate the dire funding as


well as the benefits of the yellow school


LAUSD Employees on Budget Cuts


“The future of the education budget


cuts along with the bus service scares me because I have small children who get a quality education within our school district, and with class sizes increasing and the possibility of magnet programs being cut, it limits my choices to better the education of my children.”


— Jorge Diaz School Bus Driver/Assistant Supervisor “This gives me a chance to service the


student and parents of the school, real- izing that there are cut backs and that I still have a job to do. That job is to provide a service to the awesome kids and parents of our district, in a safe and dependable cost effective manner.”


— Freddie Baker School Bus Driver/Assistant Supervisor ”School bus service is an integral part


of public education in that it offers a safe and secure environment to and from school. At this point, no matter what the budget cuts will be, we will always work for the benefit of the stu- dents. As our only objective is safety.”


— Stephanie Dominguez School Bus Driver


www.stnonline.com 33


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56