May revise offers hope to SRVUSD officials

The May revise has some good news for San Ramon Valley schools: financial support that would restore school funding to what they received in the 2007-08 school year.

Districts around the state have been awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget adjustment, especially after his proposal to extend a tax hike has bogged down in the state Legislature.

“It certainly paints a better picture than what was before us several months ago,” said district Spokesman Terry Koehne. “Protecting education seems to be part of everyone’s vernacular right now.”

The May revise is still only a proposal, and much could change before a state budget is enacted. Still, Koehne said district officials are hopeful the governor’s proposal will come to fruition sooner rather than later.

“The reality is we have to have our budget adopted by June 30 and typically the state does not have a budget by then,” he said. Koehne said Brown’s plan would restore about $500 per student, adding between $13 million and $14 million to the district’s budget.

That could help schools avoid a shortened school year and increasing furlough days. He said, though, that the district is still planning for the worst.

But Koehne added another piece of good news for schools came from the Legislature’s Republicans.

“The Republican Assembly caucus in the last two or three days came out with their budget, which did not include extending the taxes but it did support education,” he said. “It seems like the overriding sentiment is to protect schools and kids as much as possible. To us that is good news.”