Martinez Unified Braces for Millions in Budget Cuts
Potential reductions could top $3 million if voters fail to pass parcel tax measure next month; latest report on unhoused services; CCTV election forums; more from mayor on refinery settlement
The Feb. 12 Martinez Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting brought more grim budget news as a perfect storm of financial challenges continues to bear down on the district.
MUSD is being buffeted financially by a steady decline in Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding, lower projected Cost of Living (COLA) increases from the state, an expiration of one-time funds and a sharp increase in special education costs. As a result, district officials are bracing for up to $3.34 million in budget cuts heading into the 2024-25 school year, though that figure could be shaved by $675,000 if voters pass a parcel tax renewal (Measure C) next month.
Prospects for the parcel tax renewal look good based on recent voter survey results, the district’s chief budget official, Andy Cannon, told the board during an otherwise bleak update. That would potentially save 5.6 full-time equivalent teaching positions, mostly in music. In another glimmer of positive news, Superintendent Helen Rossi said the district will be able to backfill planned cuts to library media positions through funding from the nonprofit Martinez Education Foundation (MEF).
Nevertheless, the district could see a nearly $3 million reduction in state funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) over the next two years, leading to the likely prospect of more cuts in future years.
“We are not able to continue at this current rate of service,” Cannon told the board. “We must make reductions if we are able to meet our reserve requirements in the next couple of years.”
And even with the reductions, the district is still projected to remain in a structural budget deficit for the foreseeable future where expenditures continue to outpace revenues. Ultimately, its fate will depend on broader economic conditions at the state level.
“The state is banking on the fact that the economy will improve, that tax revenues will increase, and that schools’ revenues will increase accordingly, and maybe we don’t need to talk about future reductions,” Cannon said. “But right now, this is our reality.”
Whether that reality is registering within the MUSD community is another issue. Though the board has discussed the budget woes at length during meetings in recent months, including a budget workshop to set priorities in December, the meeting room has been largely empty for these discussions. Board President Courtney Masella-O’Brien noted at the Feb. 12 meeting that only one member of the public attended the December budget workshop.
Meanwhile, members of the Martinez Education Association (MEA) and their community supporters have spoken multiple times before closed sessions on stalled teacher contract negotiations, asking the district to increase its raise offer, but they are usually long gone by the time the board digs into the district’s budget realities later in meetings. The latest updates on MEA contract negotiations, and how they are impacted by the current budget situation, can be found at the following link: https://www.martinezusd.net/negotiations
The MUSD Board of Trustees discusses the district’s budget woes on Feb. 12 before rows of empty seats.
“I’m asking the community, tell me what your priorities are,” Masella-O’Brien said. “I know you don’t want us to cut anything. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to. That’s my plea to the community.”
Board member Anne Horack Martin added that the imminent cuts are “probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do on the board so far.”
The board needs to settle on proposed cuts by early March to meet its legal deadline to alert potentially impacted employees of the possibility that they will be laid off.
Cannon’s budget update identified four focus areas for minimizing the impact of the coming cuts: maintaining classroom instruction, safe schools and mental health counseling services for students and preserving budget flexibility.
Latest report on services to the unhoused
The county’s Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement (CORE) program delivered a generally upbeat report to the City Council on Feb. 7 about services provided by its dedicated Martinez team to the city’s unhoused during the last three months of 2023.
Fadi Elhayek, the program’s director, highlighted that 235 calls for service to Martinez police had been redirected to CORE staff during that period, something that he called “amazing.”
“It is immeasurable the trickle down or trickle up effect that it can have on a city and on a community,” he added.
Elhayak also told the council that CORE staff in Martinez had contacted 80 city businesses during the period; served 100 unhoused individuals; provided 1,402 services; and facilitated 274 warming center placements.
Twenty-nine individuals served by CORE exited the program during the period, 71% of whom were placed in stable housing. Most of those went to live with friends or family.
Comparing the October to December period to the same timeframe in 2022, CORE reported a 23% rise in the number of people it served, totaling 19 additional people. There was also a 90% increase in the number of services provided. Elhayak attributed the increased services to having more staff capacity.
Councilman Jay Howard noted the progress in his comments.
“I was pretty critical of you guys initially, but in the past, recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of great reports of success you’re having, especially with the people downtown, in getting them reunited with their family.”
Elhayak said the focus on family reunification is especially important considering that many local shelters are full.
“If the shelter is full, we have to look at other alternatives,” he said.
CCTV election forums available online
Contra Costa TV has produced its regular series of election forums on local races that are available to view on YouTube. Watch the March primary forums on Congressional District 10, Assembly districts 11 and 15 and county Supervisor District 5 at the following link:
https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/9999/Election-Previews-2024
Speaking of election matters, I tackle the growing debate about President Joe Biden’s age and whether he should drop his bid for re-election in my personal Substack newsletter. Feel free to check it out and my other musings on topics beyond Martinez here:
More from mayor on refinery settlement
In my Feb. 15 post about the lawsuit settlement between the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and PBF Energy’s Martinez refinery, Mayor Brianne Zorn expressed disappointment that it didn’t go further in protecting the Martinez community in light of the string of hazardous releases involving the refinery since the November 2022 spent catalyst accident. The settlement did not include any pre-negotiated fines for failure to meet the air district’s new emissions standards, scheduled to take effect in July 2026, as the district’s settlement with Chevron’s Richmond refinery did, nor did it address penalties for past air quality violations, measures to reduce unplanned flaring, or community investments, all of which were included in Chevron’s settlement but are still being negotiated with regulatory agencies in the case of Martinez.
PBF also will not be required to install a wet gas scrubber, as Chevron is planning to do to comply with the settlement’s requirements. PBF says it has come up with an “innovative technical solution” to achieve the air quality requirements but hasn’t explained how this technology will work; throughout the court case, it widely assumed that a wet gas scrubber was the only technology currently available that could achieve BAAQMD’s new standards.
Zorn provided me a follow-up comment acknowledging that the settlement will require PBF to meet the significant reduction in particulate matter emissions required under the new BAAQMD rule. It is expected that the new requirement will lead to an 80% reduction in particulate emissions from PBF’s fluidized catalytic cracking unit.
“The settlement did result in two major wins for the Martinez community: PBF Energy/MRC dropped their lawsuit with the Air District, and Rule 6-5 remained intact,” Zorn said. “The City Council passed a resolution in October 2023 urging PBF Energy to follow Rule 6-5 to reduce air emissions, and they have agreed to do this by the deadline in July 2026.”
CRAIG; Is there an opt out for seniors of a certain age? Th problem for some of us we are on severely fiixed incomes and we can't keep dipping into our property taxes for additional general services. THX!