This story was published for Patch Media on Aug. 28, 2018.
SAN DIEGO, CA — As students return to classrooms this month for another year of reading, writing and arithmetic, school districts in San Diego County will be grappling with math problems of their own: How to make ends meet in an era of escalating costs.
Although California’s record $139 billion state budget earmarks $57.3 billion for K-12 schools, including $8.5 billion from sources other than the general fund, this meager 3.5 percent increase in spending does little to alleviate the continuing struggle by school districts to avoid drowning in red ink. On average, overall expenses have jumped more than 30 percent over the past six years in the 17 San Diego County school districts Patch covers.
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