Another Bay Area school district is facing a budget crisis and officials are discussing ways to minimize layoffs.
Berkeley Unified School District trustees had a meeting on Wednesday night discussing the district's nearly $8 million budget deficit. That means there will be some tough discussions and decisions.
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WATCH HEREThere was a packed crowd during Wednesday's meeting. Some students who spoke called for the school board to avoid laying off teachers.
The district says teacher layoffs are a possibility with notices already being sent to some teachers.
The district is also considering proposals to generate revenue to close the budget gap, including charging students a small fee of $1 to $2 to ride the school bus that could potentially generate more than half a million dollars. There’s also a proposal to raise the fees of after-school programs by 20%.
Parents at Wednesday’s meeting weren’t exactly on board with the proposals.
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“Parents who work in this economy it's really difficult to afford aftercare,” said Berkeley parent Mara Guccione.
For the two proposals, the district said that students from low-income areas would be exempt also adding in a statement, “We continue to work to keep funding challenges as far from our classrooms as possible and add the district’s voice to the growing number of those calling for the state to prioritize public education funding.”
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SIGN UP The Berkeley school board is expected to hold a final vote on its budget for the next school year in June.
