TUSTIN : Schools’ Preliminary Budget Has Shortfall

For the fourth straight year, the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education has adopted a preliminary budget that contains more expenses than projected income.

Expenditures will exceed income by an estimated $272,000 or more in the $48.3-million budget unanimously approved by the school board Monday night. The final budget will be adopted after a public hearing Aug. 30, officials said.

By then, the school board will decide where to make the cuts to cover for the shortfall, said Paul Fisher, assistant superintendent for business services.

“Hopefully, we’ll get additional income from the state so we don’t have to make the cuts,” said Fisher, adding that the staff was “very conservative” in its income projection.

Fisher said the cuts could come from a variety of sources, such as transportation, teacher substitute time, conferences, consultants and supplies. However, cuts would not include layoffs of teachers or other personnel, he said.

Monday’s board action was made to comply with state law requiring that all school districts adopt and file a budget with the county superintendent of schools on or before July 1. State law also requires that school districts adopt a revised final budget by Sept. 1.

Fisher said the district must find ways to eliminate the projected deficit because the school board has decided not to use reserve funds to pay for expenditures for fiscal year 1993-94.