By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Benicia Unified School District Chief Business Official Tim Rahill presented to trustees last week a report on Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2014-15 budget proposal, saying that while the budget will go through changes known as the May Revise, overall “It is a positive budget for schools,” and “We will see additional funding here in Benicia.”

The specific amount is yet to be determined, he said, because of the new funding formula known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCCF). However, Rahill gave trustees a basic funding outline.

He said Brown proposes two “rainy day funds,” one specifically for schools and the other for everything else in the state budget.

This, Rahill said, reflects the slow economic recovery in California. And while the governor is focused on reducing or eliminating funds that contribute to the “wall of state debt,” Rahill said,

“The benefit to us is we actually get the cash when it’s due to us and we don’t have to monitor cash as closely.”

With the recent passing of Proposition 39 (the California Clean Energy Jobs Act), which provides facility funds to all school districts, Benicia will be the recipient of about $200,000 a year for five years. The money is earmarked for “energy-efficiency projects in our schools,” Rahill said.

“We have just applied for an energy-efficiency planning grant. Hopefully we will get about $20,000 or $30,000 through the PG&E Bright Schools program, which will allow us to plan how to spend that million dollars over five years.”

He cautioned that there are no guarantees on the $200,000 after the first year, with everything dependent on the state’s budget.

Meanwhile, the state lottery brings in about $700,000 to BUSD. “Just over $100,000 is specifically for books, the other $600,000 the district has used to provide with staffing costs with technology, library and some of the health services department,” Rahill said.

Federal programs are also stabilizing and picking back up, he said, including Special Education Local Plan Areas Title 1 funds for lower socioeconomic students, and Title 2 funds for professional development.

Additionally, about $1 million in Common Core funding has been received for technology and professional development.

Curriculum Director Marie Morgan said meetings on the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), a budget priority document, will be held with School Site Councils on Feb. 4, 5 and 18. There also will be a gathering of input from staff, parent, and community forums on March 13 and 27, and a planning, prioritizing, and developing of the LCAP with the District Curriculum Council from April through June.

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