One sad aspect of this year’s California school budget “trigger” fiasco was that, for fiscal realists, the “unexpected” budget shortfall was evident the day the CA state budget was passed. This “budget” made unusually bold (a.k.a. moronic) Pollyannaish assumptions about revenue. All economic indicators predicted lower figures, but the legislature was intent on passing a budget — ANY budget — prior to 30 June.
Remember that the voters unwisely approved the passage of SIMPLE MAJORITY budgets. Moreover, under that same proposition, the legislators would stop being paid after 30 June if no budget were passed. This deeply flawed state budget was the first one approved under the new criteria.
The law of unintended consequences played its predictable role in the budget ballet. The Democrats could ignore those pesky naysaying Republican representatives — the Dems passed the budget regardless of economic reality. How’d THAT work out?
To compound the problem, the school districts essentially were told to spend the projected money — to assume that no “trigger” shortfall was likely. And spend they did. As difficult as it would have been to make the cuts and adjustments in July, it will be FAR harder to reduce spending in December or January.
We all can certainly feel sorrow for the school district employees whose lives will be disrupted by this “unexpected” shortfall, but the REAL victims of this pathetic process are our kids. And that makes this mess all the more tragic.