CV cutting back summer school options

Rising costs are prompting cuts to Central Valley’s summer school program.

Elementary students won’t have a summer school option this year and middle school students will only be able to take language arts and math classes. Options for high school students will remain unchanged. All classes will be held at University High School.

Rising teacher pay and retirement contributions are the reasons behind the cuts, according to Jan Hutton, the district’s director of finance, who said it’s no longer possible for the district to use money available through Initiative 728 to continue a full program or to offer summer school scholarships.

“The state doesn’t provide any funding for summer school,” Hutton said. “We have the same pool of funds to access, but the expenses are growing.”

The most recent cost-of-living increase for teacher salaries was 3.7 percent, Hutton said. The district also has to put a percentage of each teacher’s salary into a retirement program. The percentage varies and is set by the Legislature. As recently as a few years ago the rate was under 2 percent. Currently it’s 5.84 percent and is projected to rise to 8.3 percent next year, Hutton said.

Last year the district spent $150,000 on teachers and supplies to offer summer school for all grades at three locations, not including utilities, custodial staff and other overhead costs.

Tuition, meanwhile, brought in $120,000. That forced the district to take $30,000 from the general fund to cover the deficit, said district spokeswoman Melanie Rose.

“That was more than we’ve had to in the past,” she said. “The goal on summer school is that it pays for itself. It doesn’t, though. Part of the reason we’re making these changes is to minimize those losses.”

Many elementary school students used scholarship money to attend summer school. A lack of scholarships combined with the higher tution needed to make the program self-sustaining would make the program too expensive for many familes, according to Terrie VanderWegen, executive director of learning and teaching.

“We started figuring it out and it got to be more than what child care costs around here,” she said. “It would be pretty cost-prohibitive for our elementary parents.”

It’s unclear how much money will be saved by trimming summer school and consolidating the remaining classes in one location.

“We don’t know how many kids are going to come,” Rose said. “It’s hard to say.”