New Schools Chief Vows Look at Cuts : Education: The county superintendent says the system can’t bear more state funding reductions.

John F. Dean, a Whittier College professor who rode to an election victory on a theme of energetic change, was sworn in Monday as Orange County’s new superintendent of schools and promised to meet head-on his most immediate challenge--a possible reduction in state education revenues.

Dean, 63, a political neophyte who has worked in the education field for more than 40 years, acknowledged the severe budget crisis that his new administration faces, quipping that even before he took up his $98,000-a-year post he had gotten calls from the news media on how he was going to respond.

“To say that schools have rarely faced such challenging times is understating the obvious,” he told spectators who packed the board room at the County Department of Education’s Costa Mesa headquarters for the noon swearing-in ceremony. “But we can’t slice the education pie any thinner.”

With a state budget deficit that is expected to top $1 billion this year and $6 billion next year, state educators are preparing for the worst when Gov. Pete Wilson makes his first budget proposal Thursday.

State education sources have said that a proposed freeze of cost-of-living increases could trim $1 billion from public schools.

County school board members who attended the ceremonies also voiced concern about possible funding cutbacks.

“It’s going to be a tough year and a real challenge for Dr. Dean,” said Sheila Meyers, an 11-year member of the board and head of its budget committee. “We need to sit down right away to discuss what we want to see happening and how we go about getting there.”

Dean said he will take an “absolutely active role” in lobbying state officials to hold the line on education spending cuts and will work with state educators to come up with new revenue sources. He has already identified the state lottery as a possible source of more revenue for schools.

While there has been no determination yet of the impact of the expected deep cuts in Orange County, Dean said he is “optimistic that the governor will do what he can” for education.

Dean was more hopeful about his own agenda as the county’s first new school superintendent in 24 years, pledging to “bring back the joy” of being a teacher and a student.

Dean, a Newport Beach resident, surprised many county educators by waging a hard-charging campaign that swept longtime incumbent Robert Peterson from office.

Dean has said that he would institute widespread changes in a department that boasts a 1,100-member staff and $74.5-million budget but has offered few details.

On Monday, Dean said he would seek to expand preschool education and pursue more cooperative arrangements between business and education.

Dean said his most immediate goal is completion of a written statement that will serve as a blueprint for the county’s educational objectives.