Templeton USD is in the black

TEMPLETON — Templeton Unified School District is solvent and will remain so for another few years — probably.

Superintendent Dr. Joe Koski laid out how the budget stands during a series of presentations last week. One of the first things Koski said is also one of the biggest and most impactful things he said: between 85 and 90 percent of the district’s budget is payroll.

And that is a major and tangible problem when talking about budget cuts on the epic scale that California schools have faced over the last five or more years.

“Templeton is in a similar situation to all the other school districts in California,” Koski said. “We basically are facing for the fifth year in a row not being funded at the level that we should be funded as required by Proposition 98. We’re basically 20-percent underfunded annually for five years in a row.”

TUSD chief business official Aaron Asplund confirmed the superintendent’s message.

“The core programs and services are starting to be affected,” Asplund said.

But the district is still viable. If spending continues exactly the way it is now, the district is set to go into the red in the next three years.

“We are actually in a much better place than the majority of the school districts around us,” Koski said. “We still have what’s called a ‘positive budget certification.’ That means we can demonstrate that we can pay our bills this

For the complete article see the 06-29-2012 issue.

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