SANTA ANA : $10.7 Million in Cuts Outlined for Schools

During a grim study session this week, Santa Ana Unified School District officials proposed cutting $10.7 million from next year’s budget and are looking for ways to cut $4 million more as they prepare for what could be major cuts in state funding.

If the proposals are approved by the district’s Board of Trustees next week, the cutbacks could result in many layoffs and reductions in programs ranging from athletics to bilingual education.

“We tried not to destroy entire programs but to spread the reductions across the board,” Supt. Rudy M. Castruita said. “We hope that by pulling back, we can restore these programs in financially brighter years.”

The proposed cuts will be necessary if Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposed 1991-92 budget is approved in its entirety, district officials said.

“We believe we’re obligated to prepare for a worst-case scenario,” Castruita said. “These recommendations are based on an assumption that we’ll receive nothing in a cost-of-living adjustment from the state. With staff input, we’re also establishing a priority list for restoring some of the cuts if we actually do get additional dollars.”

The district’s bilingual and Indochinese aides would be the hardest hit by the cuts. The district is proposing to eliminate 84.5 of these positions to save more than $1.4 million.

Other proposals include eliminating 12 management positions, 14 library media assistants, 10 curricula specialists, nine music teachers, seven clerical positions, five adaptive physical education teachers, two career counselors, a grant writer, a painter and a carpenter.

District Controller Robert W. Giritz said the elimination of these positions will not necessarily result in layoffs, because some of the positions that would be eliminated are not currently filled and some employees may be reassigned.

The proposed cuts also call for a reduction of 58 teaching positions, he said, to be met by slightly increasing class sizes.

But teacher layoffs are not anticipated, because the district expects to need 90 more teachers next year to accommodate their rapid growth, Giritz said.

The Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote March 12 on the budget cuts. The state’s Education Code requires that teachers and administrators facing possible layoff be notified by March 15.