Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s anointed Year of Education has turned into the Year of School Decimation.

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District will face a more-than-$3 million deficit next fiscal year if legislators approve Schwarzenegger’s proposed education cuts. To balance its budget, school officials say MPUSD may slash tutoring programs and ban overtime for teachers and staff.

“We are trying to avoid any layoffs of any of our staff,” says Superintendent Marilyn Shepherd.

In a sobering financial report sent to the MPUSD board on Monday, March 3, district staff projected $3.2 million in reductions would be needed in fiscal year 2008-09. Shepherd says MPUSD is trying to save money this year so it can carry over more money to ’08-09.

Jill Low, president of the Monterey Bay Teachers Association, says the district may cut tutoring for the California High School Exit Examination, and for students struggling in English and math. “The problem is, our state budget is totally out of whack,” Low says. “The problem needs to be solved…but not by raiding our children’s future.”

California’s projected budget deficit now has reached $16 billion. In an effort to solve the state’s financial crisis, Schwarzenegger has called for 10 percent across-the-board cuts, including $4.4 billion in cuts from education. This would mean the loss of $51 million for Monterey County public schools, an average of $786 per student, according to the California Teachers Association.

If districts plan to lay off teachers next school year, state law requires they give notice by March 15. So far, no Monterey County districts have sent pink slips as a result of the state budget crisis, says Jim Gutman, a Salinas-based consultant for the CTA.

But all districts are bracing for belt tightening. Salinas’ Alisal Union School District funds could decline between $2 million and $4 million next fiscal year, says Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas. This could mean the district won’t hire extra teachers and will increase combination classes where one instructor teaches two grades. “[The cuts] will impact our students,” Zendejas says, “because we are not going to have the same number of personnel out there helping.”

As Schwarzenegger proposes axing education funds, he also is pressuring school districts like Alisal Union and MPUSD to comply with federal No Child Left Behind testing requirements. “You get a double hit with these budget cuts,” Low says. “You can’t get help with the intervention [tutoring] and you get the hit that the state is coming down on us for our test scores.”