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For schools, the numbers have gone from bad to worse.
School staffers warned San Diego Unified school trustees today that the predicted state budget shortfall could be worsening. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated yesterday that California’s $16 billion deficit has ballooned to $20 billion despite the legislature’s efforts to ferret out $8 billion in additional funding, consultant Rick Knott explained to the board today. Schwarzenegger’s estimate is preliminary and the state is still calculating income tax revenues, the Union-Tribune reported today.
If that number proves correct, that deepening debt could force San Diego Unified to cut an additional $30 million to $40 million from its budget, board president Katherine Nakamura estimated. Nearly $80 million in budget cuts have already been planned. More than 900 teachers have been warned that their jobs could be slashed.