Schools
Public Hearing Tonight On West Contra Costa School District Budget
The school board is expected to vote on the $269 million spending plan at its meeting Wednesday night
The West Contra Costa Unified School District board of education will take a final look this evening at the proposed budget for the 2013-2014 school year.
The school board meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Lovonya Dejean Middle School, 3400 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond.
The 2013-2014 budget is near the end of the agenda. There is a public hearing scheduled as well as a board vote.
The $269 million general fund budget calls for a 180-day school year, five more days than the minimum required by the state.
It also provides pay raises and increases in the district's contribution to employee benefits. It also restores the work days that have been taken away the past few years by furloughs.
The proposed spending plan also includes money for three full time equivalent music instructors to bring that program back to schools.
It also allocates $75,000 extra to each of the district's four largest elementary schools.
The average class size for kindergarten through third grade will be 28 students. The district plans to reduce the student-teacher ratio in those grades to 24:1 by the 2020-2021 school year.
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