School's Proposed 0% Operating Budget Could Be Less

While I fully support this year's budget and have bee working tirelessly to get it passed, I question whether it could have come in at less than a 0 percent increase in the operating budget. I see that the budget includes the legally allowable 4 percent in rainy day funds, but it also includes an additional $2.9 million in tsunami money. How far off is the budget projection that it carries an extra $7 million?

I also believe if you maximize the revenues, the operating budget could be reduced by several million dollars. From my experience on the budget advisory committee and reading the comptroller's and auditor's reports, I see the district is lax in collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicaid reimbursement funds owed it for health, speech and therapy services rendered to medicaid eligible students.

Also not collected are millions of dollars in out-of-district tuition and health payments from districts such as Lawrence and Hewlett-Woodmere.

Every morning children from low performing districts are dropped off at bus stops in Long Beach to attend the Long Beach schools. Do these children deserve the first class education that Long Beach provides them with? Yes, but not on the backs of the Long Beach taxpayers.