Healdsburg schools said to be 'teetering on the brink of insolvency'

Despite aggressive cost-cutting measures by school board members this week, district finances could be sinking fast, says an article posted Thursday in the Capitol Weekly newspaper.

HUSD is listed is the article as one of four districts statewide where "payroll obligations exceed available cash," and who are "teetering on the brink of insolvency." Other districts with cash flow problems, the article says, are Cloverdale, Inglewood and Natomas.

But Steve Barekman, HUSD business services director, said the article is "overstated a little bit," he said Friday.

"It's not quite as dire as they said," Barekman added. "Every district is struggling...and we don't know what the governor is going to say in his May revised budget, which comes out in the next week or two."

HUSD Superintendent Jeff Harding said he was never contacted by the newspaper and doubted the article's accuracy.

"What are they basing this on?" he said. "How can anybody write an article without talking to the people involved?"

Harding said Healdsburg schools were "facing facing financial challenges like every other school district in the state," he said. "We'll take the necessary steps when we find out what the state budget is going to be.

"How can they write a story on insolvency when we don't even know what the budget is going to be?" Harding added.

Barekman agreed.

"I don't think we're going under," Barekman added. He noted, however, that if Gov. Jerry Brown puts forth state cuts of $800 to $1,000 per student, as mentioned in the Capitol Weekly article, "all bets are off," Barekman said.

"I hadn't even imagined" the cuts could go that high, he added.

Barekman said HUSD in March forecast a $1.5 million to $1.6 million budget deficit. That was based on state cuts of $350 per student for each of the district's approximately 2,000 students, and the loss of $1.2 million in state "Fair Share" money.

HUSD had hoped to help offset in part the $1.5 million to $1.6 million deficit with the sale of its on Healdsburg Avenue, according to Barekman. School board members voted last week to put the campus -- which currently houses , the and a community center and classrooms --  on the market.

Barekman said the article's writer, who did not contact Barekman either, did not take into account the potential revenue from the real estate sale.

"We will be coming forward with other reductions as we learn more about the budget," Barekman said. "We will use as little as possible of the Foss Creek money to remain solvent."

School board members also this week gave final confirmation to shortening the school calendar by five school days and one staff work day,and maintaining the 10 percent larger class size the district had hoped to shrink.

Also, school board members last week said they would for capital construction and new school equipment.

With all those measures, Barekman said the district was hoping to stay stable while still in limbo about the state budget.

"The governor's May revisions will tell us what the cuts really are, and how much flexibility the districts have," he added. "Without knowing those two things, there is great uncertainty."

Barekman said he's heard reports the "flexibility" included in the governor's plan might include allowing districts to cut up to 25 school days, he said.