Local News in Brief : $3.5-Billion Budget OKd for L.A. Schools

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted 7 to 0 Monday to adopt a $3.5-billion budget for the 1988-89 school year, which provides $100 million more than last year’s spending plan.

Included among the major new expenditures in the 1988-89 school year are nearly $19 million in state and district money to launch bilingual education programs and $5 million to expand integration efforts.

Other allocations will provide library aides for about 100 of the district’s more than 400 elementary schools ($770,934); pay the salaries of 11 additional elementary school music teachers ($341,184); cover the costs of developing a gang-prevention curriculum ($320,000), and make safety improvements in high school science laboratories ($900,000).

The budget also set aside $95.75 million for employee raises and benefits. A 1% pay raise for teachers, who account for about 30,000 of the district’s 80,000 employees, would cost $11.5 million, while a 1% pay hike for all employees would cost $17.5 million.

The state lottery is expected to provide about $80 million, or about 3% of the district’s general funds.