Santa Ana Board Approves Cuts in Junior, Senior High Athletics

The Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday approved $400,000 in athletic budget cuts for junior and senior high schools as part of its $13.2 million district-wide budget reduction.

In a packed auditorium at Roosevelt Elementary School, school board officials announced the following cuts from the 1991-92 athletic budgets for Century, Saddleback, Santa Ana and Santa Ana Valley high schools:

--A reduction of eight assistant coaching positions, two from each school.

--Elimination of all intramural sports.

--Elimination of field hockey, except at Santa Ana High.

--Elimination of golf and gymnastics.

--Reduction of athletic trainers of one per school.

--Reduction of sports equipment and supplies by 50%.

The board moved to combine coaching positions in cross-country, track and field and swimming so one person could coach boys’ and girls’ teams in those three sports.

Joe Tafoya, assistant superintendent of the secondary division, said officials from the four high schools met several times to decide what should be cut.

The cuts from the high schools are expected to save the district $184,985. An additional $208,922 will be trimmed from the intermediate school level. Tafoya indicated he was instructed to make the remaining $6,093 in cuts.