The St. Helena Unified School District’s new budget throws some ballast overboard, but keeps all the district’s staff on board the ship.

The district’s $24.6 million budget for 2008-2009, approved by the school board last week, includes cuts to libraries and technology, but actually adds four new full-time positions to meet the need created by St. Helena High School’s transition to a seven-period day.

Anticipating that state budget cuts will impact some programs, including special education, the district cut its deferred maintenance, reduced its categorical programs by 6.5 percent and took $126,000 out of its reserves.

That leaves the reserves below the 5-percent-of-budget threshold the board usually requires. But it prevents the district from having to cut any staff members this year.

The district did make steep cuts elsewhere. The new budget doesn’t include funding for additional library collections or replacement of furniture, equipment or technology.

The board passed the budget 4-0, with Trustee Cindy Warren absent. However, several trustees were apprehensive about the cuts.

Trustee Jim Haslip questioned whether the board should renew the full $94,000 contract of Glenn Jones, who provides audiovisual services for the district, while at the same time cutting its library and technology budgets.

Trustee Cynthia Jaeger shared his concern. She said that maintaining full staffing is important, “but so are libraries and so is keeping up with technology. I’m feeling a little bit uncomfortable right now.”

Catrina Howatt, the district’s chief financial official, said the budget is based on conservative forecasts about a state budget that hasn’t been solidified yet. She said that as state funding levels become more certain, the board can decide how to allocate whatever money comes in that’s in excess of what the district budgeted.

Superintendent Allan Gordon suggested the board might want to revisit its policy of accepting interdistrict transfers, which basically result in the district educating students for free. Between 20 and 25 students attend St. Helena schools on interdistrict transfers, Gordon said.

Although no staff members are being cut right now, the district isn’t ruling out layoffs in the coming years.

Based on current patterns, the district is expecting enrollment to decline slightly. Howatt said the district could cut one teacher in each of the next two fiscal years if those projections prove to be accurate.

Aside from those layoffs, the district might have to weigh whether to cut other staff members to prevent more painful program cuts.

The new budget anticipates a 3 percent increase in city property taxes, which Howatt said is a conservative estimate that’s consistent with the current state of the economy.

Although it isn’t included in the budget, trustees hope to get the Napa County Office of Education to hand over some of the money it has collected from taxpayers in the Howell Mountain and Pope Valley school districts.

The school district has hired a consultant to investigate whether the proportionally higher tax revenues the county office receives from Howell Mountain and Pope Valley are the vestiges of a high school tuition tax on those residents.

High school students who live within the boundaries of the K-8 Howell Mountain and Pope Valley school districts typically attend St. Helena High School, but the St. Helena school district receives no funding for them.ꆱ