You Need to Read This. Now.

Here is a document you owe it to yourself to read to fully understand the financial challenges we are
facing.

The 2020-2021 Budget:  California's Spring Fiscal Outlook, authored Gabriel Petak of the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) opens with this very sobering statement:  "The public health emergency associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in sudden and severely negative economic consequences for California."

In presenting two possible scenarios,  Mr. Petak further observes that "the state’s newly emergent fiscal challenges are unlikely to dissipate quickly and will extend well beyond the end of the public health crisis . . . budget deficits persist until at least 2023-24."

For us, as the West community, to work together to address this challenge, we all need to be fully informed.  I urge you to take a few minutes and gain a better understanding of the enormity of the challenge we are facing--and that we WILL face as a strong community of educators with a singular focus on our students.