SANTA PAULA : Schools May Face Deeper Budget Cuts

The Santa Paula Elementary School District, already hit hard by severe budget cuts this school year, may have to make more drastic cuts next year to make ends meet.

The district, which has a proposed $13-million budget, may have to cut $234,000 from its 1992-93 budget by eliminating secretarial and school maintenance positions and making other cuts, Supt. David G. Philips told the board Thursday.

“The district is slowly dissolving,” Philips said.

This year, the school district has lost about $90,000 in lottery revenue and about $100,000 in state funds because 39 students have left the district, district officials said.

Philips presented the board with a list of 14 areas in which he said reductions could be made, amounting to a total of nearly $440,000. His recommended cuts, however, total only $234,000, including $162,000 that could be saved by eliminating five secretarial and school maintenance jobs.

The list of 14 areas for possible cuts includes elimination of the music program, for a savings of $46,000, and slashing the library budget in half to save $51,000, Philips said. The district could also save about $86,000 by spending less on books, supplies and new equipment, he said.

“We need to look for other sources of income,” said Philips, who added that the preliminary budget does not include a cost-of-living increase. The district balanced its $13.1-million budget in 1991-92 by eliminating nearly a dozen full-time teaching positions.

District trustees will hold a public hearing June 25 to discuss the preliminary budget. A final vote on the budget must take place by July 1.