TUSTIN : Hiring Freeze Gets School Board’s OK

A hiring freeze that is expected to have little effect on the classroom was unanimously approved this week by the Tustin Unified School District board.

The freeze is an effort to shave $150,000 to $200,000 from district expenditures. The freeze, which will affect only classified employees and not teachers, will put an end to overtime pay and the hiring of employees to help with special projects. Also, the district will not replace classified employees who leave the district nor will it hire temporary workers when employees are absent.

“As far as the classroom is concerned, they won’t feel it too much,” said Supt. David L. Andrews. “We’ll balance the budget, but only through the freeze and other program cuts.”

The district’s financial woes are caused by inadequate education funds from the state, Andrews said. School districts are faced with recurring annual expenses, many of which increase in cost while state funds dwindle, he said.

Tustin Unified’s state funding is based on the number of students in the district. For the current fiscal year, the state indicated that the district would get $3,329 per student, but district officials estimate that when the final installments are received from the state, the district will actually pocket $3,078 per student. For fiscal 1992-93, that amount is expected to drop to an estimated $3,041 per student, said Suzan Staton, director of fiscal services.

Andrews said that Tustin Unified is still more fortunate than other school districts that have had to lay off employees and cut programs to make ends meet. “We were poor to begin with and when you are poor there is only so much you can bleed,” he said.

Budget talks for the coming fiscal year, already behind schedule, are expected to get underway later this month, Andrews said. He said he expects the district to have to make more spending cuts before the fiscal year is over.