UPDATED: Cotati-Rohnert Park School District Adopts New Budget, But Could Still Face Mid-Year Cuts

A year of contentious budget cuts and  for the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District came to an end Tuesday night when the school board adopted the $44.5 million 2011-2012 operating budget, which meets a three percent budget reserve mandated by the state. 

The district is on track to have more than $1.6 million in reserves, according to latest budget figures. But, as Gov. Jerry Brown and the legislature inch toward passing the $9.6 billion state budget, expected to be done by July 1, the district could be left grappling with more mid-year budget cuts.

According to Steven Herrington, the superintendent of schools for the Sonoma County Office of Education, if at least $2 billion of Gov. Jerry Brown's budget figures — which are actually estimated to add up to $4 billion in revenues from a growing economy — don't materialize, then local K-12 education could face even more cuts than many districts have already been forced to make.

"Districts that have already made cuts are going to have to proceed with caution. Gov. Brown is operating on the assumption that the economy will continue to grow ... but things like gas prices and inflation are not factored in," Herrington said. "Cotati-Rohnert Park's situation has been very tight, so they don't have a whole lot of wiggle room."

"Their budget is realistic based on what they were told in May, but if revenues don't grow between May and January of 2012, and the economy stalls, then it's a pie in the sky," Herrington added.

Herrington said if projected revenues assumed in Brown's budget don't add up, districts countywide face a seven-day cut to school years, they'll have to come up with $2 billion in cuts to fill the state budget gap and district busses could be eliminated altogether.