Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/47906
CUTS Continued from page 1A While lawmakers gave school districts the option of trimming the school year to as few as 168 days a year, Democrats in the Legisla- ture also approved a bill that protected their labor allies. It requires districts to negotiate with unions if they want to cut teacher and staff pay to achieve a shorter school year or make emergency layoffs. The last-minute bill, which the Democratic gov- ernor signed into law, was backed by the California Teachers Association. At the time, Senate Pres- ident Pro Tem Darrell Stein- berg, D-Sacramento, defended the legislation as an effort to protect education jobs. Brown's finance direc- tor, Ana Matosantos, said the state wanted to prevent school districts from acting on the so-called trigger cuts before they needed to. The California School Boards Association said unless lawmakers repeal the law or enact legislation to automatically reduce the school year, districts will have few options to quickly adjust to billions of dollars in cuts coming in the middle of the school year. Many school districts already are in financial hard- ship after years of successive cuts in which they have increased class sizes and cut back on transportation, after-school and extra-cur- ricular programs, said Martha Fluor, president of the California School Boards Association. Staff salaries and benefits make up 80 percent to 90 percent of most district budgets, leaving few other places to cut. ''They're going to have to give us either emergency legislation to take the steps to avoid insolvency ... or impose mandatory fur- loughs,'' Fluor said Thurs- day. ''We've got school dis- tricts that are teetering on the brink.'' At least 143 of Califor- nia's 1,032 school districts are considered in financial jeopardy based on fiscal reviews by the state Depart- ment of Education. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said the effect of the automatic spending cuts, which would occur after the first of the year, could vary dramatically from district to district because some planned their school budgets in anticipation of further cuts. ''For those districts that assumed that they wouldn't go into effect, did not plan, do not have high reserves, they're going to have a much more difficult time,'' Taylor said. More time in the class- room is widely seen as essential to educational achievement, and many experts worry that cutting back the school year could worsen the state's already wide achievement gap, in which white and Asian stu- dents perform better on stan- dardized tests than black and Hispanic students. Whether you're learning to play basketball or memo- rizing multiplication tables, the more time you spend doing it the more you are likely to learn, said Jack Jen- nings of the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Edu- cation Policy. Still, he said many states are considering shortening the school year or week to cope with small- er budgets. ''We are cutting into the bone. This means we're putting at risk the education of our children,'' he said. The average American student spends far less time in the classroom than their counterparts around the world, and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has urged schools to add days, rather than cut them. ''You're competing for jobs with kids from India and China,'' he told Denver high school students in 2009. ''I think schools should be open six, seven days a week; 11, 12 months a year.'' Only two states have school years shorter than 168 days: Colorado's school year is 160 days, while Michigan's is 165 days. Some states set only a mini- mum number of hours of instruction, making compar- isons difficult. San Diego schools already cut the school year to 175 days. Classes this year started two days after Labor Day, with a weeklong break at Thanksgiving and the last day coming on June 12. Superintendent Bill Kowba said the 132,000-stu- dent district already has cut its staff from about 16,000 to around 14,000. He said reopening its collective bar- gaining agreements with teachers would be too diffi- cult. Instead, the district is likely to tap its already low reserve and lay off bus dri- vers, custodians, administra- tive aides and other non- teaching staff. He criticized the Legisla- ture for leaving school dis- tricts in the lurch by passing a budget that relied on rosy revenue projections. The so- called trigger cuts that could come in the second half of the current school year will force schools to make reduc- tions long after they have set budgets and hired teachers. ''That kind of uncertainty just doesn't work in a school district. Mid-year, am I going to stop algebra and geometry classes? Am I going to not allow 5-year- olds to enroll in January?'' Kowba said. ''I'm being a little facetious, but those are things that have to be con- sidered.'' The extent of the auto- matic cuts will be deter- mined by the governor's Department of Finance after its own tax revenue projec- tions are released by Dec. 15. The department will decide how much money to cut based on the higher of the two revenue projections. There could be one bright light for Democrats, including Brown, who still want to put an initiative on the ballot next November to raise taxes. Brown's efforts to do that were scuttled by legislative Republicans this year. But supporters of a tax initiative say that if Californians real- ly feel the financial pinch of more spending cuts, the momentum will swing in favor. The California State PTA is among the organizations advocating for a tax mea- sure, along with the CTA and most Democrats. Barbara Flannery, a mother of two teenagers who is president of the San Diego Unified Council of PTAs, said she is no longer surprised by what she called the ''lack of commitment by our legislators to our educa- tion.'' ''At some point, you have to be willing to spend, and it seems like even with the basics we're saying we have less money and we'll have to do with less,'' she said. ''I always hear that children are our greatest resource, but we don't contribute to their future. I'm willing to pay more taxes, but are corpora- tions willing to pay more taxes?'' Steinberg, the Senate president, hinted that he would like to restore a 2 per- cent vehicle license fee that was reduced under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg- ger. BUS Continued from page 1A "I am extremely disap- pointed that Ms. East chose to drive that day," Cohen said in a press release. "Her conduct put the lives of all students who were trapped on her bus in jeopardy. We are extremely fortunate that BUCKS Continued from page 1A compete at rodeos. The fundraising event will keep him bucking toward his goal to become a professional bull rider. "This is what I plan to do for the rest of my life and I will do whatev- er it takes to make it happen," he said. What stirs Troberg the most about bull riding is making it on a bull for the full 8 seconds, he said. "The feeling of making a ride — you feel like you're on top of the world, that you're invincible," Troberg said. Remembering that feeling and keeping it going is his motivation, he said. Originally from Paradise, Troberg now lives in Red Bluff with his father, Ray. The fundraising event, 1-5 p.m. LOUD Continued from page 1A He is the "loud guy" who has done wonders for the department, Darnall said. "He is a big reason the department progressed to where it is today," Darnall said. Gormley was a long- time fire chief of the Ante- lope area fire department, he said. Many guests in the room, including family and friends, were misty- eyed as people shared memories of working with Gormley. Search and rescue team volunteer Leland George said Gormley inspired him to join after meeting him at a 4-H meeting. Having a beard and a dog, however, meant peo- ple often mistook him for Gormley, George said. "The county is going to TAX Continued from page 1A "In round figures, that's in excess of $350,000 a year that would be earmarked to support the fairground." A two-thirds vote would be needed for the proposed measure, which would have a five-year cap, he said. "Our concern is first will the fairboard support this and secondly will the community support this and shall we move forward with doing the research," Garton said. "I'd love to get some comments from the community." If the measure does make it to the ballot, Garton would like members of the Fairboard to step up and be spokesper- sons with him, he said. "We're looking for the best way to help the fairground," Garton said. "In my estimation, this gives money for the operating cost, money to clear up maintenance that's been deferred and for possibly bringing something in. This fair- ground brings dollars in from outside and we've got to do something to save it. I've worked too many years alongside Don Krois and Mike Collins to let it fall apart now." Fairboard directors were unable to comment on the mat- ter as it was not on the agenda. The matter will be brought back to the next meeting at 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5. Comments can be directed to Garton at 527-4655, Ext. 3017 or to Fair CEO Mark Eidman at 527-5920, Ext. 13. "We've never put our hand out for money before, but we need to do something to save the fairground," Eidman said. 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Caring & Compassionate Service Full traditional burial service or cremation 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, FD Lic. 1931 527-1732 Telephone: (530) 824-3792 Daily News photo by Andrea Wagner A large group of supporters from Search and Rescue and law enforcement gathered Tuesday to honor Greg Gormley for his retirement. lose a good man," he said. Supervisors Dennis Garton and Ron Warner shared experiences as well. "Lots of lives were saved because of you," Garton said to Gormley. Garton extended a wel- come to get together with Gormley to share "war stories" of being on duty in times of crisis. Warner shared memo- ries of working with Gormley while Warner was mayor of Tehama. The two worked togeth- er searching for people who had been lost along the river. "He took control and made it a whole lot easier for me as mayor of Tehama," Warner said. Later, board members paused the meeting so Garton could join Gorm- ley and his many support- ers for a photo. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyne ws.com. help the fairground with a fundraiser to be held sometime in May. "She was in here with this within weeks of taking on the title," Eidman said. "This is something we really need to embrace with her." Donations are needed for raffles and auctions with pro- ceeds going toward grounds acts for the 2012 Tehama Dis- trict Fair. Details for the event are still in the works, but look to include entertainment from local high school students among other things, Eidman said. Eidman had good news for the fairboard concerning the lawsuit resulting from a bull getting lose in the east grand- stands at the 2008 Red Bluff Round-Up. "Two of the three parties have settled and the Tehama District Fair and the county have been released from liabil- ity on the remaining case," Eidman said. According to Red Bluff Round-Up Director Don Krois, the bull that was involved in the incident did not jump the fence as originally reported, but instead was thrown over by another bull. Two weeks later, the bull died of his injuries, Krois said. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. her actions only resulted in damage to the bus and not to any of the kids." Friday, November 18, 2011 – Daily News 7A East will appear at 8 Superintendent Bruce Cole said East was placed on unpaid administrative leave within five days of the incident being reported and continues to be on unpaid leave. East, who has been an employee for about nine years, is one of four bus drivers in the district, Cole said. The district has been using its substitute list to cover the route. Cohen thanked school officials for initiating a report and taking the mat- ter seriously. "In short, Corning High School did everything right in order to protect the children entrusted to their care," he said. Saturday, includes a barbecue tri- tip lunch, auction and raffle intermixed with music and entertainment at the Tehama District Fairground. Local entertainers Kerry DeFonte, Stacie Stone, North Fork Band, Melissa Troberg and Lincoln and Family will perform. The Law Dawgs and Pistoleros of the Olde West gunfighting reenactment group are scheduled to come out guns blazing as well. Pre-sale tickets, available at The Loft, the fairground office, Crossroads Feed & Supply and Jill's Market, are $15 for adults and $5 for those 12 and younger. Tickets will go up by $5 each at the door. Members of a Shasta College life management class helped promote and organize the event a.m. Tuesday in Depart- ment 2 of the Tehama County Superior Court, where she will be arraigned and booked into Tehama County Jail. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.co m. with the help of teacher Linda McKay. John Growney was a contributor and has been an inspiration, Troberg said. Working on the Growney Ranch, Troberg got inspired to return to bull riding after stopping for awhile. Growney has been a strong supporter and friend, Troberg said. "He's like my uncle," he said. Troberg has been riding bulls and participating in rodeos for three years now, he said. He is looking forward to seeing family and friends and whoever else comes to Saturday's event. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailynews.com.