MISSION VIEJO : Schools Budget Has $2.3 Million in Cuts

After months of heated debate, the Saddleback Valley Unified School District board of trustees this week passed without much fanfare a $109-million budget that includes $2.3 million in cuts.

Unlike recent budget hearings when hundreds of people crowded into the board room to speak, there was no public comment before the board unanimously adopted the 1992-93 budget.

For their part, board members also had little say except to scold legislators in Sacramento for expecting them to pass a budget by June 30 without providing full information on state allocations for education.

“I just hope it doesn’t get worse than this,” board President Raghu P. Mathur said. “But I just have a funny feeling in my stomach that it might be worse than we projected.”

Taking a cautious position, district officials put together a budget that anticipates less than a 1% increase in state and federal funding, despite a projected increase of 617 students next year.

Based on those projections, the district expects to receive $22 less in state funds per pupil for each of its 27,000 students, said Business Services Director John Steele.

In an effort to cope with an estimated $8-million shortfall, board members approved $2.3 million in reductions, including the elimination of freshman- and sophomore-level athletic coaching stipends and middle-school “zero” periods, used primarily by students for foreign language, music and reading classes.

About 11 positions were eliminated, although the cuts will probably be absorbed through attrition, and only a couple of layoffs were expected.

Probably the most contested cost-cutting measure adopted by the board was a doubling of the annual fee parents must pay for busing. With the new $365-per-student fee, district officials expect to recover all of their basic transportation costs, although some parents have vowed to boycott the service.

The remaining $5.6-million shortfall was covered out of the district’s estimated $8.1-million emergency reserve account.

$109-Million Budget Passed

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has passed a $109-million budget that includes $2.3 million in cuts. Here’s how the money will be spent:

Category Percentage Teachers 58 Maintenance 7 Secretaries, clerks 6 Insurance, transportation 6 Principals, assistant principals 4 Books, supplies 3 Instructional aides 3 Reserve for contingencies 3 Utilities 3 Designated reserve 2 District administration 2 Tuition, transfers 2 Equipment 1

Source: Saddleback Valley Unified School District