Windfall Softens Blow to Schools in San Diego

While school officials in Los Angeles and elsewhere struggled to identify more cuts in their already slim budgets, San Diego trustees had the rare opportunity Thursday to find ways to spend a windfall.

News of an extra $15.1 million coming from Sacramento came as a pleasant surprise to San Diego education leaders, who had slashed twice that much from their budget in anticipation of a shortfall in state funding.

So on Thursday, San Diego school trustees had the luxury of revoking a 2.6% salary rollback, decreasing class size, and restoring an elementary school music program along with six nurse positions that had been eliminated in a tortuous budget process earlier this summer.

But trustees and Supt. Tom Payzant warned that restored programs would have to be streamlined if they are to survive the coming lean years.

“I don’t think we should work to bring back a program and not think about what to do to keep it alive,” Trustee Shirley Weber said.

The board had slashed $30 million from its 1992-93 budget early this summer. But last week, trustees found out that the word from Sacramento wasn’t quite that bad: $13.7 million in state revenue was restored to San Diego schools by Gov. Pete Wilson as part of a statewide gesture to grades kindergarten through 12.

And this week, the budget picture brightened even more. School officials discovered that an additional $1.4 million in state revenue is coming their way.

The money, which was freed up when Wilson signed a bill that sent more funds to elementary and secondary schools, will eventually be repaid to the state.

In a 3-2 vote, $500,000 went to ease a previously approved class-size increase for grades four through 12. Six nursing positions out of 10 that had been slashed were restored, and a popular elementary school music program was partially restored.

“There is a God in heaven. That is the best news,” said Tony Higgins, who has taught music in San Diego schools since 1956. “I’m elated. It’s imperative that we get started on this program.

“This gloom and doom of ‘Oh, we’ll never be able to afford it next year,’ to hell with that. I’m going to be teaching with the idea of doing everything I can for those kids.”

But the trustees were more realistic.

“I live from budget to budget, and I’m sure the district will too,” said Trustee John de Beck. “I’m not going to make a commitment in front of an audience that we’re not going to cut nursing or music next year.”