2011 – Budget Challenges Everywhere

Whether it is at the local,state or federal level, it seems that every agency has a financial challenge to overcome in order to provide the services and programs to the citizens of our communities.  We are very appreciative of the efforts by the Mayor and the City Council, including our District 6 Councilmember Lor Zapf, to find the funding to reduce the cuts to the Park and Recreation Center and to the Library that threatened to make this a very difficult financial new year.

Recently the Town Council addressed the School Board of the San Diego Unified School District regarding their plans to eliminate one or two of the four school principals from the four small high schools up at the Kearny Complex.  All four schools have been improving so dramatically since restructuring the large 2000-student high school into four smaller schools.  Fortunately the School Board agreed unanimously to continue the four principals' positions.

Unfortunately the challenge in Sacramento to create a balanced state budget as required by law is proving difficult again.  Under the current plan, there will be significant layoffs of school district employees.  And there are no easy answers.  This has significant impact to the budget for San Diego County and the social services that they provide to us all. 

During this summer the San Diego Redictricting Committee will be making up a fomal map of the nine City Districts that result from the 2010 Census figures. The Town Council has been working with the Clairemont Town Council and the Serra Mesa Planning Group to put forward the concept that the District 6 that we have have for the past decade (since the 2000 Census) is a good idea that we want to keep.  This will be decided by the fall.

Tom Kaye
LVTC President