SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Schools Cut $451,000 as Lottery Sales Lag

The Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees this week unanimously approved more than $450,000 in cuts for programs that were to be funded with the district’s state lottery allocation.

The cuts, totaling $451,271, were made because the district had originally expected to receive $110 per student from the state based on average daily attendance, but that figure has been reduced to a projected $88 per student, said Carleen Wing-Chandler, the district’s director of budget and finance.

The lower projections are based on disappointing lottery sales. The state Lottery Commission has revised its original revenue projections from $2 billion in sales to $1.65 billion. As a result, school districts will be receiving less money, district officials said.

Among the cuts at Capistrano Unified are $86,000 that would have been used to purchase and lease additional copy machines, $32,000 that would have been used to purchase equipment and supplies for co-curricular activities, a hiring freeze on noon supervisors for a saving of $35,700, a $2,736 reduction in regional occupational programs, $17,000 in the district’s Writing to Read program, and the elimination of $7,500 in employee awards.

In addition, the district will transfer $200,000 from its Retiree Benefits Fund, which will leave that account at the recommended $400,000 and maintain the fund’s financial soundness, district officials said.

“I’m really relieved that this is all we have to cut, and it’s a tribute to the planning of our fine staff,” said trustee Annette Gude. “There are a lot of school districts in Orange County in deep trouble, unless something changes drastically in Sacramento or money falls from the heavens.”