Payzant Issues Early Warning of School Cuts If Governor’s Plan Is OKd

Despite statewide voter approval of Proposition 98 last November to guarantee a steady level of support for public education, the San Diego Unified School District may have to cut as much as $16.2 million in programs under the initial 1989-90 state budget proposed by Gov. George Deukmejian, schools Supt. Tom Payzant warned Wednesday.

Deukmejian, who opposed the measure, has proposed targeting an estimated $377 million resulting from Proposition 98 for specific mandated programs such as drug education and class-size reduction. That would mean the extra money could not be used by local districts to cover operational expenses such as salaries or activities such as dropout prevention or counseling, considered important by individual school systems.

Cuts Would Be About 3%

If the Legislature does not significantly alter Deukmejian’s plans, districts such as San Diego will be left far short of the money needed to maintain programs at present levels, Payzant said. That would force him and the Board of Trustees to eliminate up to $16.2 million, or 3%, of a preliminary $500-million budget and to face withering criticism from parents and students similar to the outcry three years ago when state problems caused $9 million in local school cuts.

It would also crimp, if not derail, ambitious plans by the district to carry through far-reaching reforms in curriculum, teaching styles and neighborhood control of schools, Payzant added.

Although resolution of the state budget will come only late this spring or early summer, Payzant’s press conference Wednesday represented an early-warning salvo by educators upset at the governor’s proposal. It was also a clear attempt to position public schools as a victim, rather than cause, of a potentially dire financial situation that faces the state for the next fiscal year.

“The current status of school finance in California has resulted in a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation,” Payzant said Wednesday. “Proposition 98 raised expectations, and many people believe its passage means much more money for schools and that our budgetary problems are over. That is not the case. The state faces serious budget problems and the schools will, too.”

‘Collision of Expectations’

Last month, county schools Supt. Tom Boysen said the public perception of Proposition 98 and the governor’s budget is “a set-up for a collision of expectations.” Boysen said Deukmejian’s plans for specific commitments are “at odds with the concept of local control favored by most district superintendents and school boards.”

Payzant’s administrators project that the district will need $515.7 million next year to maintain existing programs and compensate for inflation, provide for salary increases already agreed to and accommodate more students. However, under Deukmejian’s proposal, the district will come up $16.2 million short, with total revenues of only $499.5 million when smaller federal and local revenues are added in.

“We do not have a plan yet to address this projected shortfall, but we must balance next year’s budget,” Payzant said. “But obviously it will result in some cuts.” Payzant said he hopes both his advisory committees of parents and teachers, and trustees will agree that any cuts should be kept “as far from the classroom as possible,” meaning no layoffs of teachers.

And, though even the worst-case scenario means only a 3% trim from a $500-million budget, Payzant said the effects are magnified because the district has not fully recovered from $40 million in slashes made from 1981 to 1983 and the $9 million in 1987-88.

Payzant Not Optimistic

“And 85% of our budget already goes directly for people and schools so that doesn’t leave a lot of room,” he said. Payzant said across-the-board cuts are one alternative to significant reductions in specific programs, but, he said, “doing it across-the-board doesn’t recognize we have differing needs and priorities, some of which (if cut) would have more negative impacts” than cuts in others.

Payzant holds little hope that the Legislature will change Deukmejian’s budget plans enough to eliminate the deficit completely.

“I don’t want to cry wolf too loudly . . . but we must have a contingency plan. We will determine what we have to do if the deficit is $16 million, or $8 million or $4 million. I don’t see a turnaround in its entirety in any case.”