L.A. School Board OKs a Shaky Budget : Education: The $3.8-billion spending plan hinges on salary cuts that must be negotiated. State funding, as yet unresolved, will also play a key role.

After weeks of tumultuous debate, the Los Angeles Board of Education on Thursday precariously balanced its budget for next year, cutting employees salaries by nearly $250 million, slashing hundreds of positions and eliminating district programs to make up a $400-million shortfall.

Board members unanimously adopted the final $3.8-billion budget days before a June 30 deadline.

But the budget balancing was tenuous at best, with the board counting on yet-to-be negotiated cuts in employees’ salaries to save the district $247.3 million. District officials acknowledged that they may have to return to the chopping block after they find out how much state funding the battered school system will get next year.

“What we’re dealing with at best is a moving target,” said school board President Warren Furutani. “We’re going to come up with some numbers (today) but when you get down to it, the budget is not done. We’re only one step down the path.”

Referring to the projected cuts in employees’ salaries, Furutani added: “We’re going to do everything we can to get that compensation number as low as we possibly can because we know the numbers we’re talking about are absolutely devastating.”

The massive spending reductions are necessary to bail the district out of its worst fiscal crisis, and will have an impact on everything from recreation programs to school maintenance to the amount of money employees take home each payday.

The board approved cutting hundreds of positions, many of them based in central offices. About 650 people will be affected by the elimination of about 850 so-called classified positions, said personnel Director Jon Campbell. Although most of those employees will be reassigned or bumped down to lower-paid positions, about 90 may lose their jobs.

“They’ll receive a 30-day notice of layoff,” Campbell said. “It’ll be several weeks before everyone receives the notice.”

About 300 positions for employees who have teaching credentials--which includes some administrators--will also be lost. But Irene Yamahara, associate superintendent of personnel, said she does not believe that any will lose their jobs.

“The bottom line as it appears now is no one ends up out the door,” Yamahara said. She said that notices will be sent out next week informing various management employees that they may be shifted into lower positions. No permanent teachers will be laid off.

The board also reduced the district’s maintenance budget for a savings of $10.3 million, eliminated several instructional support programs, and reduced after-school and weekend recreation programs. The district was able to save more than $60 million by decreasing its reserves, deferring payments to its workers’ compensation fund and reducing utility costs and the district’s fund for substitute teachers.

But most of the cuts rested on salary reductions.

Board members emphasized that the $247.3-million figure could shrink depending on the level of state funding and the outcome of pending negotiations with employee bargaining units.

But board member Mark Slavkin cautioned that the figure could become a reality. “It’s there and it’s real,” Slavkin said.

However, he added, “I don’t want to lay off 5,000 people in order to avoid the pay cuts. We’re choosing to do this to avoid (layoffs).”

The district’s 58,000 full-time employees were forced to take a 3% pay cut as well as two to five furlough days last year to balance the 1991-92 budget. During negotiations with various employee units, the district said it would gradually repay the pay cut with interest as well as restore employees’ salaries to 1990-91 levels.

District officials said those employees will have their salaries restored to the 1990-91 level for the months of July to September, as negotiated. But with the pending cuts, they will probably lose that amount again and much more.

Helen Bernstein, president of United Teachers-Los Angeles, said teachers will be willing to discuss a pay cut during negotiations only after the district makes efforts to drastically reduce administration and programs.

“We’re not accepting anything the way they’re doing it now,” Bernstein said. “Teachers don’t believe their district is in crisis because they don’t see it. They have the same programs as last year, the same amount of administrators. . . . They don’t see anything except someone cutting their pay 10% to 15% and that’s not right.”

But Connie Moreno of the California School Employees Assn.’s Local 500, which represents 5,000 district clerical and support employees, said things could be worse.

“That ($247-million figure) doesn’t terrify me as much as what may come down from Sacramento,” Moreno said, referring to a threat by Gov. Pete Wilson to cut school spending by $2 billion. “If we don’t succeed in getting enough votes to override the governor’s proposal, L.A. Unified employees are facing a 20% to 25% pay cut.”