If you happened to see last Sunday’s Modesto Bee, (Oct.18) you read a bit about each candidates thoughts on the budget.  You read about their priorities, their willingness to reduce or not reduce particular programs and what they thought might address the minimum $15 million dollar shortfall the district will face next year.  Since the information provided by each candidate was severely limited, I thought I would provide some additional information to you on where I stand.

I had a question about my statement on health care costs.  I need to make very clear, my position is that we need to look at our health care costs, not that employees should necessarily pay more of those costs.  I believe we need to look the plan we offer, whether or not we can find something that would be more cost-effective and if there are any other ways to lower costs.  There are other plans, such as health savings accounts, that can provide substantial savings to employees under some circumstances.   There is nobody who doesn’t agree health care costs are spiraling out of control; I see that personally in my daily work.  Like most people, I am paying more for my own health insurance, that of my children and as an employer who provides health insurance benefits for my employees.  Like most employers, we have been forced to change our health care benefits in the last couple of years and our employees are paying more for their coverage.  My point is, health care costs are high, both for the district and for employees, and it warrants examination as a way to cut back.

I would never suggest we should discontinue providing health coverage for our employees.  I believe we need health care reform and nobody should be put in the position of being unable to see a doctor or taking care of their children because they can’t afford health insurance.  Health care and insurance are complex issues and I’m very happy to see our nation engaged in a discussion about improving access for all.  I encourage and support the idea of health care reform and hope that we can come together to make health care more affordable for all citizens.

School closures, as I have said before, may become a reality whether we like it or not.  Many districts have chosen to close schools for budgetary reasons and when schools are declining in enrollment, the option must be considered.  It may be a course of action that proves to be more palatable than others and I believe we must be open to the idea.

Essentially, when it comes to making budget reductions in the neighborhood of $15 million or more, we must be open to discussing everything.  We must also be realistic in our expectations of what will and won’t get us to the magic number we must reach.  There are other possibilities that haven’t been broached as of yet; I expect we will have to get very creative in our efforts to navigate this fiscal storm.  My hope is only that all parties working  toward the solutions will be willing to bend in ways they have not in the past.

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