BREA : Teachers, Parents Balk at Budget Cuts

Teachers pleaded with Brea-Olinda Unified School District trustees on Monday to resist increases in class sizes and not cut athletic programs in response to state budget cuts.

About 70 people attended the public hearing to discuss how Brea school officials should respond to an expected drop in state financing for the 1992-93 school year.

Brea-Olinda is likely to lose more than $1 million in state aid for the next academic year, said district Supt. Edgar Z. Seal.

During the hearing, teachers and administrators expressed concerns about almost all of the suggested cuts.

Members of athletic departments became incensed at suggestions to cut coaching stipends; library aides at suggestions to cut their hours and benefits. Classroom teachers balked at suggestions to increase class size.

“Our first priority here is the kids. We want them to have sports and everything else, but their education is the first priority,” said Barbara Arczynski, a teacher in the Brea-Olinda district for 19 years. “Classroom size has to be the first priority, because we are here to teach.”

Several parents attended the hearing to express opposition to a proposal to charge a fee for busing. Others said the board should consider reducing administrative staff before approving cuts that could hurt their children’s education.

“We need to cut from the top. We don’t need to cut from the bottom,” said Pauline Cordova, whose daughter attends kindergarten at Arovista Elementary School.

The few students who attended the hearing appeared more concerned over a suggestion to make all Brea-Olinda High School students eat lunch at the school’s cafeteria.

“Right now, the lunchroom is so packed that kids are eating on the stairs,” said Mike Kushinsky, a junior at the high school.