School Board Finalizes Budget With $30 Million in Cuts

The expected $30 million in program and salary cuts for the San Diego city schools became official Monday as the district passed a $586-million budget for the 1992-93 school year to meet a Sept. 1 deadline.

With the Legislature still arguing over a final state budget, city schools Supt. Tom Payzant told trustees that he doesn’t know whether the local cuts will be too little, too much or just right to meet the amount of funding that will be coming to the district.

But it wasn’t too early Monday for those groups and advocates affected by the budget cuts to plead to be first in line if there turns out to be more money from the state than expected.

The board has voted to eliminate some sports, music, counseling, supplemental writing, nursing, sex-education and other programs, as well as to cut employee salaries by 2.67% in four phases.

The head of the teachers union told trustees Monday that salary restorations should be the top priority.

“You should not forget your employees,” Bill Crane told the Board of Education, despite a gentle admonishment from Trustee Shirley Weber that such testimony should wait until after the state budget is final.

Crane said salary restorations “would show a sincere commitment to your employees” and allow the board to regain “a trust level” with teachers that was damaged when trustees unilaterally ordered the cuts in late June without negotiations.

A motion by Trustee John De Beck to put the salary issue at the top of the list for restorations died for lack of a second.

Supporters of elementary music made another pitch to obtain a high priority ahead of other newly eliminated programs. And opponents of the junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program (JROTC) again asked the board to eliminate it and use the money for other programs, because they say that JROTC promotes militarism.