Miscalculations May Cause Cuts in School Budget : Education: Compton Unified needs to reduce its expenses by $2.5 million to meet requirements. Officials predict layoffs will not be necessary.

The Compton Unified School District faces $2.5 million in last-minute cuts because of unspecified miscalculations in its budget. Officials predicted they could make the necessary cuts without layoffs or severe program reductions.

The miscalculations surfaced during a routine county review of the district’s budget. As a result, county officials have twice rejected the spending plan, sending Compton administrators scurrying back to prepare revisions.

Some board members said they are embarrassed by the ongoing problems and upset with district administrators over the snafu. If the district cannot resolve its budget difficulties by month’s end, the county or state could appoint an outside committee to manage the district’s financial affairs.

“It’s a very serious, critical situation,” board member Lynn Dymally said before Tuesday’s special board meeting. “We’re still waiting for the county to give the board a full accounting.

“We’re still awaiting a report from our administration about why these discrepancies are there,” she added.

District officials thought they would end the most recent budget year with a $4.1-million balance, so they planned this year’s budget accordingly. But county budget analysts concluded that the district ended last year with $1.4 million--a difference of $2.7 million.

As a result, Compton Unified must cut nearly that much--about $2.5 million--to keep its $88-million budget balanced and maintain a legally required financial reserve, Supt. J. L. Handy said. The exact amount needed to be cut could be affected by fluctuating estimates of state revenues and more exact accounting of district expenses and reserves, he said.

Handy said officials are still trying to ascertain what went wrong with the budget. He said he is determined not to let it happen again.

The level of budget reductions, about 2.8%, is comparable to what other area school districts cut from their spending plans. The difference is the timing.

Most school districts made budget-cutting decisions in the spring and early summer to meet a Sept. 1 budget deadline set by state law. Compton officials submitted a budget without significant cuts. It now appears that cuts will have to be made.

Of the county’s 81 school districts, only three have had their budgets rejected, said Max Carrigan, a business services administrator with the county Office of Education. The other districts are neighboring giant Los Angeles Unified and the Antelope Valley Union High School District.

Of the three, Compton is probably best able to weather potential cutbacks. Antelope Valley negotiated 7% salary reductions and eliminated more than 100 jobs earlier this year. Los Angeles Unified has approved millions in program reductions and is asking its employees to accept pay cuts.

Compton officials briefly considered a pay cut but said this week that one is not needed. In a 2 1/2-hour closed session Tuesday, board members discussed other options. Administrators asked board members to consider about $5 million in cuts.

Officials predicted that a temporary hiring freeze would probably be part of the final package and that one to two dozen unfilled staff positions likely will be eliminated.

Some officials, who asked not to be identified, conceded that some of the proposed savings measures should have been part of the original budget. Spending patterns in all departments were not fully evaluated before the district submitted its original budget, they said.

Administrators fell behind in their budget preparation and had to offer a budget that was not as carefully analyzed as it should have been, the sources said.

Board members complained throughout the spring about the late budget, and Supt. Handy pledged early this summer that the budget would be on time and accurate. An exasperated Handy renewed that assurance in August when the board had to approve a revised budget. At the time, he said only minor adjustments had to be made.

But the county also rejected that revised budget. As a last resort, the county or state could assume control of district finances, but county officials said they hope that will not be needed.

Trustee Amen Rahh said fellow board members were blowing the budget problem out of proportion. He said county officials mainly wanted reassurance that the district would work with them to iron out a budget. Both sides are cooperating, he added.

The budget complications come at an awkward time for the district. School officials are lobbying Gov. Pete Wilson to veto a bill that would permit a state-appointed trustee to take over the district. The bill provides for a takeover on the grounds that Compton students are not receiving an adequate education, a contention that district officials deny.

The budget problem concerns financial, rather than educational matters, but officials concede that the last thing they need right now is another potential wound to the district’s credibility.

“The timing is awkward because there are other issues out there in the public concerning the district,” board member Kelvin Filer said of the budget difficulties. “But I’m confident we’ll be able to deal with all these issues and resolve them in a positive fashion.”