MISSION VIEJO : School Board Delays Decisions on Budget

At an emotional meeting that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Education delayed making any decisions on a proposed list of $3.2 million in budget cuts and fee increases after hearing hours of comments from teachers, parents and students.

The district, now faced with a budget shortfall that officials say has unexpectedly swelled from $3.2 million to $4.9 million, will again discuss their bleak budget picture June 1.

Trustees were faced with a standing-room-only crowd of more than 400 that included teachers demanding the settlement of their contract, parents furious over a proposed dramatic hike in busing fees, and parents and students pleading with the board not to eliminate elementary school music programs and high school guidance counselors.

On an unrelated item, hundreds of parents also crowded the boardroom to protest a proposed change in high school boundaries.

“In my experience, this is the worst it’s ever been,” said Trustee R. Kent Hann. “We have significant problems and I don’t have a lot of hope.”

“It’s clearly an emotional time for all of us,” added Trustee Bobbee Cline. “At this point, we’re in such a bind that there’s nothing that even the state can do. It’s just an absolute disaster.”

Trustees had been prepared to make recommendations on the $3.2 million in proposed cuts and fee increases to balance next year’s $109-million budget, but were told just hours before the meeting that the cuts would have to be closer to $5 million because of more bad news from Sacramento.

More than 200 teachers, wearing red “We Deserve a Contract” buttons, complained about stalled contract negotiations. Bonnie Chadd, president of the teachers’ association, said that even with the district’s financial plight, there are several non-salary contract issues that can be settled.

“We feel like we’re having a very, very hard time reaching the board,” Chadd told the trustees. “Education is not a business. How do you put a price on what is priceless? Teachers are the heart and stability of the district.”

For the second consecutive night, parents bitterly complained about a proposal to raise the cost of annual bus passes from $150 to $365 per year.

“I don’t think you even fathom what this increase in transportation fees means to parents,” said parent Bill Winn, who called the fee increase “discriminatory” since some students must be bused to schools because of district boundary configurations.

Dozens of parents also showed up at the meeting to protest proposed budget cuts in music programs.

Among the proposals are the elimination of funding for Language Arts Assistance for grades kindergarten through 6, instrumental music for grades 4 to 6 and general music for grades 1 to 3.