Governor tells SLO County that 'nothing is sacred' when it comes to budget cuts

By Sally Connell
sconnell@thetribunenews.com

Local officials hoping to see area state parks protected from budget cuts were informed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning that nothing is sacred as he has proposed 10 percent across-the-board cuts to make up a growing state deficit.

Schwarzenegger appeared before a group of 70 business and political leaders Wednesday morning at a gathering of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.

As he spoke, a small group of protesters gathered outside to protest his proposed cuts. Another group of protesters, mostly teachers, gathered outside The Tribune building while the governor was meeting inside with the editorial board after the chamber meeting.

Thousands of layoff notices have been sent to teachers across the state, including some in San Luis Obispo County, in anticipation of the state budget cuts. And seven local state parks have been proposed for closure.

The governor has been holding such meetings across the state as he is using the current budget crisis as the backdrop for promoting his budget reform proposal, which would require saving money in reserves from fat financial years to get through lean years. It takes the form of a constitutional amendment, which would also allow whatever governor is in office to make mid-year budget adjustments in a manner approved by the legislature if revenues drop.

At the community meeting, he was introduced by San Luis Obispo Mayor Dave Romero, and in turn jokingly said Romero would be famous for his old style tie -- “It all comes back. Don’t ever throw it away,” Schwarzenegger suggested.

But his conversation grew immediately serious as he stated repeatedly that “California doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem.”

What was expected to be a $10 billion shortfall in December has grown to a $16.5 billion budget shortfall, according to the state’s non-partisan budget analyst. Some estimates are that it could be a $20 billion deficit between revenues and planned expenditures by May, the governor said.

“We really don’t know where it is going to end up,” Schwarzenegger said.

He said that some areas are preoccupied with cuts in education, while large metropolitan efforts want to see no cuts in law enforcement as they deal with gangs and other problems.

“I don’t want to promise you that yes we are going to take care of schools, yes we are going to take care of parks, yes we are going to take care of law enforcement,” he said, stressing that cuts just have to be made to balance this year’s budget. “The State of California has to live within its means.”

He stressed that adopting budget reform would lead to protecting the state in future years, although it would not stop steep cuts this year.

Some critics of the California budget process have noted that Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot measure that reduced property taxes to 1 percent of a its assessed value, has been a leading contributor to the state’s ongoing financial uncertainties.

But Schwarzenegger said that Proposition 13 is not the problem, spending is the problem.

“It does not have anything to do with changing Proposition 13 or anything like that,” he said.

Protesters at both locations were worried about the sweeping cuts that are proposed.

Paso Robles School District trustee Jeanne Dugger was among the protesters.

The district faces up to $1 million in cuts and has had to issue pink slips to teachers, informing them they could be laid off.

“The priority in the state of California needs to be children and education,” Dugger said, not prisons.

Adrienne Dickinson, a San Luis Coastal School District trustee and Arroyo Grande High School teacher, said it was about more than education.

“We don’t care just about schools. Our children need Montana de Oro and our parks system,” Dickinson said.

Four Atascadero Junior High students -- Samantha Lindsay, Shaley Gunther, Kari Szalay and Kennedy Fields -- made signs asking the Governor not to cut education.

“School is important to us, and we need an education to get somewhere,” Gunther, 13, said.

Tribune staff writer Leah Etling contributed to this story.