Although the annual Budget Perspectives Workshop is always worth attending, the 2010 offering is expected to be invaluable.

With the state suffering in the midst of a strong recession, there is a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen to the education budget. Budget Perspectives 2010 is a collaboration between School Innovations and Advocacy and the Association of California School Administrators that examines the implications of the governor’s initial budget proposal, traditionally released in January.

Because K-12 schools have already taken a $20 billion cut in funding, a cut entirely out of proportion to the rest of state-funded programs, the 2010-11 budget proposal is much anticipated.

Will there be mid-year cuts? Will the Legislature gouge another disproportionate amount of funding from schools, imperiling the futures of an entire generation of students? How will the state handle it if the Proposition 98 guarantee comes in at about a $1 billion increase, as the Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting?

Budget Perspectives 2010 hopes to provide invaluable insight into these issues and assist educators in planning school budgets for the upcoming year.

Best of all, admission for these workshops is free, compliments of ACSA and SI&A. Dates and locations include:

•Jan. 13, Sacramento and San Jose;

•Jan. 14, Bakersfield;

•Jan. 15, Los Angeles and Clovis;

•Jan. 19, Santa Rosa;

•Jan. 21, San Diego and Redwood City;

•Jan. 22, Redding.

There will also be a session in San Bernardino, date TBD. The events will start at 8:30 a.m. and run until noon. For more information, visit www.sia-us.com/register.