School District Dodges Some State Cuts

The Santa Barbara Unified School District dodged half a bullet when the state announced that mid-year trigger cuts — built into the budget if the state did not meet the revenue projection of $88.4 billion — would not be as deep as expected. The district will lose about $500,000 according to Meg Jetté, interim assistant superintendant of business services. Among the cuts is a reduction in funding for home-to-school transportation, but because the district contracts out bus services, there will be little difference in service. Had the budget shortfall reached a predicted $3.7 billion as opposed to the real number of $2.2 billion, the school year may have been shortened.