ORANGE : Trustees Assailed for School-Budget Cuts

A boisterous crowd of more than 300 teachers and parents gave the Orange Unified School District’s Board of Education an earful before the trustees unanimously passed a $103.5-million budget for the 1990-91 school year.

The final budget, approved by the board Thursday, features several severe cuts, including the possible firing of up to 72 part-time assistants, the elimination of funding for resource teachers at most of the district’s elementary schools, and the cancellation of the district’s driver-training program.

“This is a balanced budget that will not lead to bankruptcy,” Supt. Norm Guith said.

More than $1.5 million had to be trimmed from the budget as a result of funding cuts in Sacramento this summer, district officials said.

Although the budget calls for the elimination of 59 instructional and 13 school community assistants, many of those employees could be reassigned to other positions within the district depending on the outcome of current contract negotiations, Guith said.

Many of the layoffs are a direct result of the district’s decision to eliminate funding for resource teachers who work with students having problems with basic subjects. Schools that decide to keep their resource teachers must pay for them with funds normally set aside for assistants, district officials said.

Association leaders for the teachers and classified staff criticized the board for the budget cuts and for lack of progress in contract negotiations.

“We’re out of patience with excuses and unfounded claims of bankruptcy,” said Hazel Stover, president of the Orange Unified Education Assn., which represents district teachers.

School board President Jeff Holstien said the district would not be able to agree to the teachers’ demands unless additional cuts are made in other areas.

“We certainly have major financial constraints. We’ve already cut $2 million from our budget,” Holstien said, adding that the district would have to cut an additional $2.3 million from the budget to meet contract demands.

Stover also criticized the board for the elimination of the district’s developmental kindergarten, a program that works with kindergarten-age children who have been identified as lacking in maturity and social skills.

Holstien said the program was dropped because of “philosophical reasons.” The program was determined to be detrimental to a student rather than beneficial, he added.