San Diego School Board Agonizes Over Cuts

An agonized San Diego city schools board worked late into the night Tuesday, but failed to cut $21.5 million from its 1992-93 budget because of California’s financial shortages. They put off further decisions until July 14.

Trustees were facing proposed elimination of supplemental English, elementary music, basic sex education and career counseling programs as well as reductions in nurses, high school athletics, basic secondary counseling, night school patrols and maintenance.

Early in the evening, trustees killed an idea for a quick, massive change to simplify school starting and ending times beginning in September and save up to $1.6 million in transportation costs.

A majority believed the savings was not worth the short-term disruption it would cause to parents and the negative image it would bring to the voluntary integration program, which consumes more than 50% of all transportation costs.

The board unanimously approved a one-time savings of $4 million in medical payments, to be realized by paying insurers 12 times a year instead of 10 beginning in January.

And trustees also took back $2.6 million originally set aside for cost-of-living increases for employees next year, as well as $800,000 in new textbook purchases. The board also approved without major debate another $4.2 million in permanent salary reductions, or about 1%, for all employees.

They last month also cut $4.2 million in employee compensation.

The $21.5 million in cuts that still need to be made, along with $9.45 million slashed in early May, would total $30.3 million, or about 7% of the district’s $403 million proposed for general operations and regular programs. The reductions are necessary because the state, which covers more than 90% of local district funding, is short between $1 billion and $2 billion needed to continue supporting the present level of education.