At Tuesday night's board meeting, trustees and parents saw the official list of what could be cut. Reducing teachers expanding classroom sizes and cutting some counselors are just some of the cuts being proposed.
"We have to cure our budget deficit," said Marilyn Rodger, the president of the SLCUSD Board of Trustees. I mean, we have a fiduciary responsibility to do that and there is no low-hanging fruit. We are going to have to make cuts that will be painful for students and employees."
The proposed cuts are expected to reduce the deficit by almost $6 million.
Both parents and board members expressed their concerns with the items discussed, which brought up a new idea.
"I think there is a very specific solution that I'd like to propose: That we go after legislative change, but in the near term, I would propose to PG&E, contribute to us at the level you always have as long as you're open," said Brian Clausen, a trustee, at the meeting. "We have a foundation you can donate to. If you commit before Feb. 18, when we have to vote on this, that you will donate the minimum of $10 million you've given us for decades, I commit that I will vote against any cuts."
To understand why this idea was brought up, we have to look closer at the history of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
In 2016, PG&E began depreciating the value of the power plant, anticipating it would close by this year.
Because of that, and the knowledge that once the plant fully closed, the school district would be getting far less in property tax revenue, PG&E agreed to a Community Impact Mitigation Program, or CIMP.
This meant they would pay a certain amount every year to SLCUSD until the plant's scheduled closure.
Ultimately, the plant hasn’t shut down as expected.
In 2022, the state extended operations at Diablo Canyon, but the property tax funding so far hasn’t continued, which is what the district says is partly to blame for this budget deficit.
The final CIMP payment in July will be the last that PG&E is obligated to pay.
While Diablo Canyon's operations were extended, so far it's only temporarily currently PG&E is in the process of applying for a new 20-year federal operating permit.
A decision from the NRC is expected in August, but even if approved, negotiations for what the district will get from the plant won't start right away.
"It certainly seems to me that they have a moral responsibility I mean, being cited in our community for almost four decades, we assumed the risks associated with that plant and reaped the benefit as a school district," said Rodger.
KSBY reached out to PG&E to see if they would consider Clausen's proposal, but have not heard back.
The SLCUSD board will vote on how to solve the budget deficit on February 18th.
