The latest report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, issued Nov. 16, indicates California's struggling economy is likely to trigger automatic cuts to public education that could reduce the school year in some districts. (The Los Angeles Times has the story here.) In response, IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker issued the following statement:
“At this time we are continuing to closely monitor reports out of Sacramento to determine how legislators intend to deal with lagging revenue.
"Recognizing that the state's earlier projections were overly optimistic, the Irvine Unified School District was prudent and proactive in its budgeting for 2011-12, and in fact we planned for a mid-year reduction at the state level. As such, we do not currently anticipate the need to shorten this school year, and of course any changes to the academic calendar would be subject to mutual agreement with our employee associations.
"Our district will, however, continue to take a cautious and conservative approach to ensure we remain on solid financial ground as we anticipate more challenges in the years ahead.”