At a time when local governments are closing ranks around their municipal budgets like herds of elephants around their threatened calves, it was a pleasant surprise to see the City Council last week put up $275,000 of its own general fund money to support school youth counseling programs — often among the first to be lopped off by the budget ax.
It’s no secret that school districts are suffering much more under the petulant whims of a state Legislature that has been unable to craft a multibillion dollar budget fix. Districts like Burbank Unified are almost entirely dependent on Sacramento for their funding, so as the state goes, so do they.
City governments are by no means obligated to step in to assist. They too are under the pressure of multimillion deficits caused by falling tax revenue. But last week, Burbank produced one of those rare examples of partnership. It would be true for any year, but especially during a recession — $275,000 is not an insignificant chunk of funding.
