#budget-deficit

#budget-deficit

Without the half-percent sales tax increase, which would generate an estimated $9 million per year for the city's general fund if voters approve it this November, Berkeley could face deeper cuts including shuttering a fire station, laying off police officers and reducing hours at city pools and recreation centers.

We knew it was going to be a pretty major endeavor. We've got 93 years of precedent in front of us, behind us, around us at all times on the conversation around an income tax. Washington state was originally built on an agrarian and timbered economy. We still have a tax code based on apples and cherries while building some global-leading technology every which way you throw a rock.

The city currently gives over $8 million annually to the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project to work with people awaiting trial outside of jail. The nonprofit has for 50 years connected people suspected of crimes to housing, employment, and medical treatment - the same services the probation department is now proposing.

UCLA fires its chief financial officer CFO Stephen Agostini after he gave a student newspaper an interview saying the campus has a $425-million deficit that he blamed in part on faculty and academic programs. The university disputes his statement, saying the deficit is substantially lower and stems from broader institutional and external factors. Faculty leaders are demanding budget transparency and accountability.

But the city only committed funding through the current 2025-2026 school year, and city leaders made it clear that this was a pilot program they would support for the first few years and then hand over to the district to build into its budget or seek outside funding. That funding cliff has arrived just as OUSD navigates a serious budget deficit and needs to trim $100 million from next year's budget.

The recommendations here alone will not solve the stability crisis in our district. But, we are happy to see validation of what we already know- that SFUSD can and must stabilize staffing and special education programs for our students,

The move is in accordance with Assembly Bill 1390, which allows for increases between $600 and $4,500 per month, based on the average daily attendance in the prior school year. Previously, the rate was $60 to $1,500 per month. Four of the five members of Antioch's board of trustees voted to increase their pay, which will impact the district's general fund $96,000 more annually.

The union last week reportedly rejected a three-year deal dubbed a "stability package," which included a 6% raise spread over three years. The union is also seeking contract language protecting undocumented students and those from mixed-status families, and a reduction in case loads for paraeducators. The union is seeking 9% raises for certified teachers, spread over two years, and 14% hikes for paraeducators.

New York City and Mayor Zohran Mamdani find themselves in deep economic water. The city is staring at a $12 billion budget hole that must be filled by June 30, a massive economic challenge for any mayor, let alone one on the job for just 22 days like Mamdani. Without question, a deficit of this size will hinder Mamdani's ability to realize much of the affordability agenda that propelled him to the highest office in New York City last year.

are about reducing or eliminating positions, not necessarily people. We're not sure if [layoffs] can be avoided in full, but I'm here to tell you that staff is working around the clock to minimize any and all impact.

Enrollment in Oakland Unified School District is on the rebound, but continued gains are uncertain as the district faces large unresolved deficits. During the first regular school board meeting of the year on Wednesday, OUSD's executive director of enrollment Kilian Betlach reported increases in transitional kindergarten enrollment, enrollment gains from charter school closures, and a collapse in enrollment by newcomer students. This year, OUSD's enrollment exceeded projections by more than 500 students, which means roughly $7 million more in state funding for the district.

The year 2026 is sure to bring another round of big political battles and shifts in leadership ahead of what's expected to be a hotly contested midterm election season. Needless to say, it's going to be a busy year. That's right. We'll have several competitive and already expensive races throughout California that will impact not only the future of our state, but the balance of power in Congress.

Hundreds rallied outside the New School during a board meeting today, December 10, to protest sweeping faculty and program cuts that many say will be devastating to the century-old institution's progressive social research mission. At 4 pm today,around 300students, staff, and supporters gathered outside 66 West 12th Street, which houses the offices of President Joel Towers and Provost Richard Kessler. "Short on money, high on power, we don't trust Joel Towers," New School students and faculty chanted underneath the university building's scaffolding.