School District Deficit Estimate Hits $4.6 Million : Education: County and local officials differ on whether administrators have miscalculated reserves.

The Compton Unified school board may have to cut spending by as much as $4.6 million--about double what officials anticipated--to resolve lingering budget problems.

The cuts may become necessary to balance the school district’s $88-million budget, a spending plan that the Los Angeles County Office of Education has twice rejected.

Under state law, the district has until the end of the month to submit a county-approved budget. Otherwise, state and county education officials could appoint an outside committee to take charge of district finances.

County analysts have questioned the amount of money the district claims to have. They want the district to make spending cuts or provide documents showing that cuts are not necessary.

District administrators have already conceded that unspecified budget miscalculations will force them to recommend a $2.5-million cut. In dispute is whether the district will also have to make about $2.1 million in additional cuts, county and district officials said.

“The board has told our administrative staff that this problem is our highest priority,” board President John Steward said. “We told them: ‘Whatever you’re doing, stop it and deal with this issue. We want it resolved.’ ”

At issue is Compton’s balance for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Compton Unified originally claimed to have a year-end balance of $4.1 million, but administrators now say they ended last year with about $1.3 million in reserve. County analysts, however, have concluded that the district might have finished last year more than $500,000 in the red, district officials said.

Fluctuating estimates of state revenues and more exact accounting of school expenses and reserves may affect the amount of the cuts, officials said.

“We have instructed our staff to provide the county with the documentation so we can come to some agreement as to what our ending balance is,” Steward said. “We told our administration that we want both them and the county getting together and agreeing.”

Steward said the district made the mistake of relying on a consultant to create a budget, and then failed to make adequate checks while the budget was being prepared. “The consultant operated independently until the middle of June,” he said. “You don’t do that.”

Steward also joined board members Lynn Dymally and Amen Rahh in complaining that the proposed cuts were too vague. Several community members said they also want to see more specifics. Suggested cuts include a limited hiring freeze and the elimination of one to two dozen unfilled staff positions.

“This is nothing,” Sinetta Farley said, holding up a copy of the budget-reduction options. “It doesn’t address concerns of staff and the community, and it’s not in-depth.”

Supt. J. L. Handy said the proposed reduction package was meant to offer only a general overview and was not intended as a final draft. Handy said the district will present a detailed list of proposed reductions before Tuesday’s meeting, when the board is scheduled to vote on the reductions.

Handy has pledged that there will be no layoffs and that any cuts will not have a major effect on programs and services for the district’s 32,600 students.

The budget problems come at an uncomfortable time for Compton Unified.

Even as some administrators are wrestling with the spending plan, others have joined a committee of employee union members and parents to lobby against legislation that would permit a state takeover of the school system.

The bill, authored by Assemblyman Willard H. Murray Jr. (D-Paramount), would allow the state schools superintendent to appoint a trustee to manage the district. Murray contends that the district’s test scores, generally the lowest in the state, and its high dropout rate warrant state intervention.

Wilson has until month’s end to sign or veto the bill. He has not announced a position.

Community Correspondent Mimi Ko also contributed to this story.