Panel OKs Bill to Restore Cuts in School Budget

Legislation to restore $53 million in school money cut by Gov. George Deukmejian from the current $38.4-billion state budget was approved in a unanimous, bipartisan vote by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday despite warnings that the governor would again veto the spending proposals.

Among other things, the measure calls for special financial aid for urban school districts, including the financially strapped Los Angeles Unified School District.

In his veto message last summer, Deukmejian called on the Legislature to finance the programs with earnings from the Public Employees’ Retirement System pension fund. The governor contended that gains in the stock market in recent years have provided the fund with more money than it needs to meet its obligations to retirees.

But Democrats, under pressure from public employee groups to protect the retirement fund, fought the proposal then and renewed pledges to fight it before the committee voted on the funding measure Wednesday.

Sen. Barry Keene (D-Benecia), the bill’s sponsor, said he would “probably” resist efforts to amend the bill to add the pension money. But he said a compromise was not “beyond consideration.”

Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) voted for the measure but warned that if the pension money is not added to the bill he will “do all I can to defeat it.”

Later in the day, a group of lawmakers and educators, including officials of the Los Angeles school and community college governing boards, said the budget cuts would impose a “severe hardship” on urban school districts if allowed to stand.

Educationally Disadvantaged

The legislation would provide extra support for urban districts to finance programs for so-called educationally disadvantaged students in heavily minority neighborhoods.

Rural districts, meanwhile, would receive a share of the additional funding to help defray the unusually high costs of operating a school bus system over long distances or in mountain areas where snow problems add to transportation costs.

Deukmejian originally budgeted $106.7 million for the programs, but he vetoed the money when the Legislature refused to go along with his plan to transfer $283 million from the pension fund to the state treasury to finance a variety of programs.

The governor relented and added $53.4 million, or six months of financing, last summer, but he said he wanted the pension fund transfer approved to finance the programs for the second half of the year.

Kevin Brett, the governor’s deputy press secretary, indicated that the governor would veto the bill if it does not include the pension money.

“The measure does not identify a funding source, so the governor can be expected to look upon the bill unfavorably if it reaches his desk,” Brett said.

Under the bill, the Los Angeles school district would receive $18.8 million.

Jackie Goldberg, a member of the Los Angeles school board, said at a Capitol news conference that the Deukmejian budget cuts would hit hardest at “programs for the most disadvantaged youth” in the education system.

Alfreda Abbott, a member of the Oakland Unified School District board, said her district faces the loss of $2.8 million because of the governor’s vetoes. She said that amount would pay 100 teacher salaries or provide the operating budget of one high school for a year--money the 50,000-student Alameda County district can ill afford to lose. “Without this money, our district would be thrown into a financial tailspin,” she said.

Assemblywoman Teresa P. Hughes (D-Los Angeles), who heads the Assembly Education Committee, said she will carry Keene’s bill in the Assembly.

Community College Funds

In addition to the $53 million, Hughes and other Assembly Democrats said they hope to amend the Keene bill to add $22 million in vetoed funds for community college districts that are experiencing declining student enrollments.

Leticia Quezada, a member of the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, said the governor’s veto of community college funds would require a cut of another $9 million in her district’s budget. She said the community college district has been forced into a steady series of budget cuts since 1983. “We are not cutting the fat any more, we are cutting into the bone,” she said.