SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Schools OK 2 Budget Plans as Contingency

With more state education cuts expected and a budget deadline looming, Capistrano Unified School District trustees approved a 1992-93 preliminary budget Monday that outlines about $8.2 million in reductions, including the loss of up to 87 positions.

In a 4-2 vote, the board also approved using a $12.7-million reduction plan that can be put in place if extra cuts are needed when more information on revenue from the state becomes available.

Based on early debate over the state budget, the district is already facing an unexpected loss of about $625,000 in state lottery and average-daily attendance funds, officials said.

“I wish I could tell you things are getting better, but they’re not,” Supt. James A. Fleming told the board.

The trustees will take final action on the budget after a special meeting June 29, a day before a state-mandated deadline for school districts to adopt a balanced budget.

Under the $114.8-million “austerity” preliminary budget, which is based on existing information from the state, the district would cope with an $8.2-million shortfall by taking such measures as increasing average class sizes by one-half student and charging a new annual busing fee of up to $180 per student, which will allow the district to recover about half of its $2.6-million yearly transportation costs.

Under the $110.3-million “survival” preliminary budget, which outlines a worst-case scenario for the district if the state cuts more funds than expected, average class sizes would increase by one student, and up to 176 positions would be eliminated.

Trustees A. Edward Westberg and Paul B. Haseman voted against the two preliminary budgets, saying they could not support drastic cuts to the “Writing to Read” and “Reading Resources” programs and to Las Palmas Model School.

Board members voting for the proposals said they would try to keep the two reading programs if possible when considering the final budget, but said they could not justify saving the Las Palmas program when other elementary schools are also taking cuts.

After approving the preliminary budget proposals, the board voted to send 30-day layoff notices to about 42 classified staff members, including secretaries, typists, janitors, groundskeepers, reading aides and school bus drivers. The notices are expected to be mailed this week.

Fleming expects that a majority of the classified employees receiving notices will be assigned to other positions through attrition and the opening of two new elementary schools next year.

The board also rescinded another 89 preliminary layoff notices sent to teachers on March 15, leaving 88 positions on the possible cuts list. Trustees said they hope to be able to rescind even more of the teaching layoff notices before adopting the final budget.

So far, the board has rescinded 199 of the original 287 notices sent to teachers and counselors in March. But teachers’ union President Ric Stephenson urged the board to rescind all the layoff notices immediately, saying there’s enough money to keep the 88 remaining teaching positions off the cutbacks list.

Without those teaching positions, Stephenson said average class sizes could increase by two to five students throughout the district.

To help alleviate such measures, Stephenson said the district should consider raising the busing fee to recover all of its transportation costs.

“My priority is to put the dollars into the classroom rather than the streets,” he said.