SOMIS : School District May Have to Cut $65,000

The Mesa Union Elementary School District in Somis, one of the smallest districts in the county, may have to cut $65,000 from its budget for the next school year because of proposed reductions in state funding for public education.

Trustees in the 365-student, two-school rural district will hold a special meeting tonight to discuss the financial outlook for the 1991-92 year and to answer questions from the public, said Supt. Dennis J. Convery.

Officials have not yet made any decisions about where the possible cuts would be made in the district’s annual budget of about $1.4 million, Convery said.

As with other school districts, Mesa Union officials are waiting for the final state budget in July, which must be passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson, before finalizing their own budgets.

In his preliminary budget in January, Wilson proposed cutting $500 million from schools in the current budget year and another $2 billion in the 1991-92 school year. Wilson also has proposed suspending Proposition 98, which guarantees funds to schools. The move could mean an additional $1.4 billion in cuts.

The Mesa Union meeting “is really a discussion meeting to alert the board and the public,” Convery said. “It’s early, but because of the negative projections, we wanted to start to provide information and answer questions.”

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Room 8 at the district office, 3901 Mesa School Road in Somis.