HUNTINGTON BEACH : Schools Are Facing $1.1-Million Deficit

The Huntington Beach City School District approved its tentative 1991-92 budget this week, voting to cut $57,000 in summer spending but still facing a projected $1.1-million deficit.

To bridge the shortfall, which represents more than 5% of the $21.5-million budget, the board of trustees next month will consider slashing $500,000 and dipping into reserve funds to cover the balance of the gap. School districts have until September to submit a balanced final budget to the state.

The anticipated deficit has grown by $335,000 during the past month because of recently approved pay raises for teachers, according to John Conniff, the district’s assistant superintendent for educational services. Until further reductions are made, the district’s reserves will dwindle to $830,000, Conniff said.

The board on Tuesday canceled this summer’s planned teacher workshops, saving $25,000. Trustees also agreed to cut two-thirds of summer cleaning personnel, trimming $30,000, and cut another $2,000 by scaling back the upcoming enrollment-projection study.

District staffers are compiling a list of additional cuts to be proposed to board members at a special study session June 25. The board is scheduled to decide on which cuts to make at its July 16 meeting. Both interim Supt. Gary Burgner and Duane Dishno, who will become the new superintendent July 1, recommend that the board reduce spending by at least $500,000.

The deficit “can be offset by our relatively large (reserve) balance, but we could not continue that into the next year,” Conniff said. “We’re looking at spending $1 million more than we have. If we did that over two years, we would exhaust all the reserves we have left.”

Before approving the tentative budget plan, board members held a public hearing. The only speaker, parent and former school board candidate Brian Rechsteiner, urged the board to consider enacting hiring and buying freezes, asking businesses to help underwrite education costs and reorganizing the district’s administration.