Montecito Union School District forced to make cuts in wake of mudslide

Montecito Union School officials have tough choices to make in the wake of the Jan. 9th mudslide.

As a community-funded school district, 93 percent of funding comes from property taxes.

Home values and property taxes are expected to drop significantly after hundreds of homes in Montecito were damaged or destroyed in the disaster.

Superintendent Anthony Ranii said a “rough estimate” of losses is between 9 and 13 percent, which equals one million dollars or more.

The district has also been dealing with a decline in its student population over the last 7 years.

Ranii said the school has a “solid” reserve and therefore is not in a crisis mode, but cuts are still necessary.

“We have more staffing right now than we need,” he said. “Really it’s a matter of looking at the number of the students that we have and matching the size of our staff to our current number of students.”

The school board approved three recommendations made by Ranii; staff, including teachers and specialists, will be reduced to match student population, Ranii will forgo a pay increase next year and other administrators will cut back their hours, and the district will purchase fewer materials and equipment.

The cuts will save between $700,000 and $900,000 for the 2018-2019 school year.

Ranaii said programs, including music and art will not be cut or impacted.

The cuts will buy the district some time to know the exact extent of the decline in property value and tax revenue and decide if more reductions need to be made.

Ranii said it has been difficult to talk to staff members who may be losing their positions when “really we have accomplished so much this year.”