State financial projections out Thursday predict billions in lost revenue for K-12 schools and community colleges due to the economic fallout from the pandemic.
The new figures estimate an overall budget deficit of $54.3 billion, with $13.4 billion in the current year and $40.9 billion in the next. Under calculations based on Proposition 98, this deficit translates into a reduction of $18.3 billion over the next two years reserved for K-12 schools and community colleges in the state's general fund.
Oakland Unified School District Board of Education member Shanthi Gonzales called the news "extremely disheartening."
"I have been really struggling with real feelings of despair about what's happening with the economy and the chances of us being able to win revenue that we critically need for the school district," Gonzales said.
OUSD's Budget and Finance Committee will take up the issue Thursday night at a 6 p.m. meeting via Zoom. The district has already issued pink slips to some 100 employees as part of an approved $20.5 million in cuts for next year's budget. The deadline to send more layoff notices to employees passed on March 15.
