Payzant Drafts Plan for $37 Million in School Cuts

San Diego Schools Supt. Tom Payzant on Thursday unveiled specific proposals for large cuts in sports, basic skills support, new supplies, maintenance, music, nursing and administration, leaving few if any areas untouched by $37 million in reductions from existing levels.

The comprehensive list was given to San Diego city schools principals and other employees at a special meeting. Although Payzant stressed to them that his proposals are tentative and subject to discussion from parents, teachers and trustees, several educators said later that, based on their experience, they expect most of the cuts to be approved during school board deliberations late next month.

Among the major reductions suggested by Payzant and his top lieutenants:

* $6.53 million at the district’s central office, eliminating 110 positions, including several counseling administrators and employees on special assignment--altogether 18 managers, 13 supervisors, 13 non-classroom teachers and 65 clerks and secretaries.

* $4.17 million out of $13.6 million in instructional supplies to schools, including audio-visual equipment, paper and pencils, and possibly some textbook purchases.

* $4 million out of $81 million in the special education program, with an unspecified number of positions to be cut.

* $2.9 million--a 50% slash--in the amount of money given to schools to support programs aimed at cutting dropout rates, in promoting preparation of more nonwhite students for college (the AVID program), in improving secondary education courses (the common-core project), in writing, and in boosting basic skills.

* $2.3 million in deferred maintenance (already with an estimated $49 million in unfunded repairs), $1 million in ongoing maintenance out of a $9.5 million budget, and $1 million in custodial and gardening services out of an annual $21.9-million budget.

* $1.44 million in the nursing program, which would be a 50% reduction in funds that includes cutting 32 nursing positions, a cut larger than the one hinted at when Payzant asked for and received approval from trustees earlier this week to issue notices of proposed layoffs to nurses.

* Elimination of the elementary instrumental music program, cutting 16 teachers and $704,000.

* A 12.5% reduction in secondary school sports, or $200,000 out of $1.6 million, which sources said would mean the elimination of water polo, swimming and soccer.

Other cuts would come from the elimination of career counseling and dropout prevention programs; a loss of at least 25 resource, or non-classroom teaching positions (out of 328); reduced printing and word processing operations; and a move to every-other-week meetings of the Board of Education from its present weekly schedule.

The reductions would be rounded out by accounting procedures.

A total of 200 positions out of 11,000 in the district would be cut, although no teachers would be laid off because of expected vacancies created by retirements, resignations and a one-time early-retirement incentive offering.

At the closed meeting Thursday morning, several principals said Payzant talked about “everyone needing to be a leader and tighten their belts, as painful as it is.” The district will be short an estimated $37 million, or 7% of the $600 million needed to keep existing services next year because of a looming $7-billion to $10-billion state budget deficit. The state funds almost 90% of the district’s budget.

Although conceding that painful reductions are inevitable, several principals and central office administrators questioned whether Payzant and his immediate assistants really intended to change many of their recommendations despite two advisory committees--one of teachers, clerks and administrators, the second of parents and community residents--which have yet to make their own suggestions.

“They didn’t even talk to principals about this before giving it out,” one principal said. “This isn’t exactly great for morale, since maybe we’d suggest cutting a whole lot of other things, such as integration support or consulting.

“And do you really think that a parent committee or one of the staff is going to take precedence over what his cabinet (chief assistants) are recommending?”

Many principals want to see more than Payzant’s suggested $650,000 cut in the integration budget, even though the $47-million annual budget for integration is funded 80% by special state funding. They also want to see more than two positions cut in the staff development department.

A central office department chief said all managers were asked to submit lists of reductions totaling 5%, 10% and 15% of their budgets. “But what they came up with (Thursday) isn’t what I submitted at all,” the department head said.

Another administrator said that Payzant wants to “shock” a number of people into taking the early retirement incentive that will save an estimated $1 million next year. “Once they figure out how many take it,” the administrator said, “then they can start figuring out where to put all the other people” whose positions are being eliminated.