The panel discussion on Feb. 26, staged by the Cupertino Union School District, featured commentary from State Assembly members Sally Lieber and Joe Simitian. Also speaking was Nancy LaCasse, director of legislative services for School Services of California, the group that serves as liaison between school districts and the state.

"It's a whole new environment in Sacramento," LaCasse said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget, proposed in January, earmarks $2 billion for education, half of what K­14 education in California is promised through guidelines set out in Proposition 98. According to the panelists, this new deal was hammered out by the governor and the California Teachers Association without any representation from the managerial side of school districts.

However, LaCasse said that many recognize that the agreement is necessary for some stability. The additional $2 billion has basically become an IOU. "We're just going to stair-step up to that [$4 billion] entitlement," added Simitian, who represents Palo Alto, Los Altos and Los Gatos.

On the other hand, the governor's proposed budget addresses an issue on the minds of many Cupertino Union parents—equalization. Simitian pointed out that the formula that determines the amount of money the school district receives from the state is 25 years old.

Cupertino Union receives a dollar amount per student from the state—called the revenue limit—that is, for various reasons, the lowest in Santa Clara County. That amount is funded in part by property taxes given to the school district, and because the property tax money doesn't reach that preset revenue limit, the state makes up the difference. This past year, because of the budget crisis, the state lowered Cupertino Union's revenue limit 1.2 percent to $4,397.30 per student.

The proposed state budget pledges $82 million to solve this problem statewide, and approximately $600,000 of that money would come to Cupertino Union. "The governor has always been convinced that school districts have huge discrepancies in their revenue limits," LaCasse said. The budget is out for consideration, and the governor will incorporate suggestions in his May revision.

Simitian and Lieber are also working on the equalization issue as co-authors of Assembly Bill 2178, which would change the revenue limit formula. They asked for 46 co-authors, which should help the bill pass with strong bipartisan support, but they're also anticipating a fight with Southern California legislators, who endorse a formula that would bring more money to the Los Angeles school district.

Members of the audience asked what parents can do to affect votes. "Direct letters to the Bay Area delegation," said Lieber, who represents Sunnyvale and Cupertino. Literature handed out at the forum also listed the addresses for those on the assembly's education committee.

The proposed state budget does take into account cost of living adjustments for teachers and employees, and saves by consolidating funding for 22 "categorical" programs into one block grant, eliminating administration for each. "There are very few places left to save in education," Lieber said.

With conditions as they are, Cupertino Union is facing a $2 million shortfall in 2004­2005 out of its overall budget of $101 million. At the end of the program, Board President Pearl Cheng took the microphone and said that the next step is a parcel task. The passage of Proposition 55 should also bring in about $2 million for the construction of Collins Middle School. And since the proposed state budget was contingent on the passage of propositions 57 and 58, the district has some hope that the picture will look better by June.

Simitian admits that at this juncture, budgeting is like playing catch-up. Drastic changes needed to take place in the late 1990s when there was money. Without funds, flaws in the system like disproportionate revenue limits are more visible. "It's like the Winchester Mystery House," he said. "It's a wholly dysfunctional structure, and we keep adding rooms to it."