OXNARD : Reserves May Fill District Budget Gaps

Trustees of the Oxnard School District will consider taking $1.7 million from the district’s reserves to balance the $54.2-million budget for next fiscal year.

Even if it dips into the district’s reserves, the board will still face the prospect of cutting staff positions for the second straight year, said Sandra J. Herrera, who oversees business and fiscal services.

The proposed 1992-93 budget, to be considered at tonight’s school board meeting, targets five clerical positions for elimination, part of $650,000 in reductions to the preliminary budget that trustees reviewed in March, Herrera said.

Last year, the board was forced to pare $3.2 million from the budget, eliminating 63 staff positions.

And additional cuts may be needed if the state’s fiscal crisis worsens, Herrera said.

“We’re surviving, but not thriving,” Herrera said. The budget barely retains the 3% reserve recommended by the state, she said. “We’re in good position to weather what comes, but how deeply the state’s budget ax falls will determine how well we’ll survive.”

Herrera described the proposed budget as a “hunkering-down” spending plan. The budget includes several built-in safeguards to provide a cushion against further cuts in the 12,100-student district, she said.

With the amount of state funding dependent on a district’s size, Oxnard administrators will freeze the projection of enrollment they report to the state at 12,100. If more students actually enroll, the district can later collect state funding for the additional children.

If state revenues dip again, Herrera said the effect locally could be very painful. Next year, she said, the board would have to be in a “cut mode” if state funding declines.

The board’s meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the district’s Oxnard headquarters.