TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Five budget plans have come out of Sacramento and five plans have been shot down.

Waiting for an approved budget so he can make plans for the Rosedale Union School District is not unlike living in Florida in September, said Superintendent Jamie Henderson.

“I identify with the Gulf states,” Henderson said. “There’s a hurricane, then a week later there’s another hurricane, that’s kind of the sensation.

Making budget cuts is complicated, so while legislators dither, districts are thinking creatively about how to save dollars now, before the budget cutback storm hits.

This fall, Rosedale dropped class-size reduction standards for kindergarten in its seven elementary schools; it also considered dropping standards for third grade.

But the district took over running after-school day care from the recreation district and recouped $250,000, allowing it to keep third-grade classes to about 20 kids.

Rosedale has cut one music teacher position, some aides, supplies money and a contract with a test results company, Henderson said. It has left unfilled vacated library services and technology positions.

Henderson would prefer not to cut the popular band and choir program.

“We've tried to keep that one off the chopping block,” he said.

BAKERSFIELD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Bakersfield City School District is saving carryover funding from previous years’ programs to help ward off cuts in other areas if the state allows more spending flexibility at the local level.

BCSD has about 20 programs with carryover funds, said chief business official Steve McClain.

Another pool of money the district is eyeing is the .68 percent cost-of-living raise for employees that might be waived in a new budget.

And as staffers leave or retire, non-critical positions are not being filled, McClain said.

KERN HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Kern High School District Board of Trustees discussed setting priorities for making budget cuts earlier this month.

Board President Joel Heinrichs said the district needed to make as many mid-year cuts as possible to save money for the 2009-10 school year budget.

Trustees suggested a range of measures including implementing online courses; streamlining bus service so students can walk to schools within a mile of home; cutting district vehicle use; dropping the junior varsity level in some sports; and using a lecture hall format for some courses such as history.

KERNVILLE UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

In the Kernville Union School District, Superintendent Mary Barlow said the district is considering cutting every position from administration down to cafeteria workers, custodians and instructional aids.

Kernville has cut out most field trips, and asked school councils to help cover the annual environmental education program in Cambria.

Last week, the California Teachers Association filed an initiative that could go to a special election in 2009 that would implement a one-cent sales tax to provide new, ongoing funding that cannot be cut.

The act would direct an estimated $5 to $6 billion generated by the tax to classroom spending. None of the money could cover administrative costs.

Of the five proposed budgets to date, school district officials prefer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, which offered local districts the most flexibility in crafting spending decisions.

“If there's one thing about all the different proposals, the flexibility is the one bright star,” Barlow said.

As a large, urban school district, Bakersfield receives lots of categorical funding.

“If they make significant cuts, they ought to provide significant flexibility, which they're hesitant to do. But they've got to give that up,” said BCSD’s McClain.