MISSION VIEJO : Trustees OK New Prop. 174 Resolution

A divided Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Education, sued once over a resolution opposing Proposition 174, the school voucher initiative, has approved a new one outlining potential financial harm if the measure should pass in November.

After a lengthy and emotional debate, the board voted 3 to 2 last week to approve the resolution, which states that an analysis by independent agencies indicates the district could lose between $5 million and $12 million if the initiative passes.

The loss of funding, if not reimbursed by the state, could cause major cutbacks in programs and services available to children, according to the resolution.

While the resolution does not take a stand on Proposition 174, board members voting for it--President Bobbee Cline, Marcia L. Birch and Dore J. Gilbert--expressed their own views against the initiative.

If approved by the state’s voters, Proposition 174 would provide parents with vouchers worth $2,600 per year to be used at any voucher-redeeming public, private or parochial school. Supporters say the initiative would improve public schools because they would have to compete for students based on school performance. Opponents say Proposition 174 would harm public schools already reeling from budget cuts.

“I have not been convinced by proponents of the voucher initiative that this is going to be a good thing for our schools,” said Gilbert, who will have five children attending district schools next year. “I can’t take the chance.”

Board members Frank L. Ury and Debbie Hughes, proponents of the voucher initiative, said they believe the board’s resolution violates a court settlement reached last year barring the district from taking a “partisan” position on the initiative.

Ury said he will formally propose at the next board meeting that the board members voting for the resolution assume all financial responsibility in case the district is sued again.

Sponsors of the ballot initiative sued the Saddleback Valley Unified School District and one other Orange County district in April, 1992, contending that they illegally used public funds to oppose the measure.

In March, 1992, the Saddleback Valley trustees approved a resolution opposing the measure and urged people not to sign petitions that would qualify it for the ballot.

The resolution was later reproduced in a newsletter sent to parents by the district’s principals.

As part of a settlement, the district agreed to rescind the resolution, which it did in April.

District officials, however, said that school boards do have the right to gather, analyze and make available information about issues affecting their schools and that the new resolution does not take a partisan stand.