Sunroom Desk

The first part of the Glendale Unified School District board meeting yesterday had a holiday party atmosphere. After the Crescenta Valley High School carolers in costume, the board celebrated eight Glendale schools making the California Business for Education Excellence honor roll, and four district high schools getting high ranks in a special U.S. News and World Report survey.

More than 21,000 high schools were surveyed by the magazine. Crescenta Valley and Clark Magnet high schools earned a Silver Medal ranking. Glendale High and Hoover High received Bronze Medal ranking, putting them in the top 9 percent of schools nationwide.

On the budget front, the district audit report for 2007-2008 showed that Glendale has been prudent in managing its budget and now has 8.6% of its total budget in reserves. According to the auditor, it might be enough to get the district through next year, depending on the severity of California state budget cuts. The bad news for school district employees is that 92% of unrestricted funds currently go to pay salary and benefits, not leaving much room for a large budget shortfall in future years.

The district earned an important “low-risk auditee” classification from its audit, which allows it to save funds on auditing procedures and compete more effectively for grants.

The board’s discussion on how to deal with an expected budget gap, and the role of temporary teachers and grants, was covered in today’s Glendale News Press.