After years of deep budget cuts, district officials announced last month that they projected a $2.45-million 2.45-million budget
Chicago Public Schools approved a budget that cut district financing to charter schools by 6 percent, which could remove more than $400,000 from the network's budget this year.
Conservation programs have cut district residents' use by 15percentt in the last two decades, and the average Marin household uses just 283 gallons a day, which is about three-quarters of the average household use in the Bay Area.
That would force even deeper cuts to districts that have already laid off teachers and increased class sizes.
Here are two charts depicting the breadth of the budget cuts among districts and the shrinking of federal stimulus funds that were used to make up for some of the cuts in the last two years.
In Kyrene, growing class sizes reflect spending cuts; the district's maintenance and operation budget fell to $95 million this year from $106 million in 2008.
Unfortunately, because of gerrymandering, by which Republicans have cut extreme districts that favor themselves, Democrats will pick up only 27 seats despite their popular strength.
The result has been an inversion in members' traditional roles, especially in states losing Congressional seats, like New York, which must cut three districts.
Even after the June staff cuts, the district had an estimated $304 million deficit for the coming year — at a time when it is already paying nearly that amount, $280 million, to service its existing debt each year.
Cuts: The district loses about $349 per student in 2011-12.
Cuts: The district loses about $570 per student in 2011-12.
