IRVINE : School Budget Again Provides No Raises

Irvine Unified School District officials forecast another tough school year Tuesday night, unveiling a $98.7-million budget for 1994-95 that spares the district’s 1,912 employees from layoffs but offers little hope for salary increases.

“There is a great deal we haven’t been doing,” said Paul Reed, deputy superintendent of business services, referring to what would be the third consecutive school year with no increased spending planned for programs or people.

Teacher salaries in the 21,500-student school district range from $26,000 to $56,000 a year, averaging $43,628, according to district statistics. Negotiations with all district employees, whose contracts expired in June, are expected to begin this month.

“The district and the teachers over the last couple of years have enjoyed a good working relationship during these difficult times,” Irvine Teachers Assn. President Steve Garretson said. “But this is going to be three years without a pay raise and people are very anxious about that.”

The Irvine school district ended the 1993-94 school year with $4.2 million in reserves, which is 4.5% of its total budget and well above the 3% required by the state. But with the new South Lake Middle School opening in September, expenditures are expected to increase by $1.6 million for the school year that begins Wednesday, leaving a projected 3.3% ending balance for 1994-95.

“Our reserve funds are still moving in the wrong direction,” said Ken Horner, district director of business services. “It’s a struggle every year.”

Trustee Mary Ellen Hadley, Orange County director of the California School Boards Assn., said she finds no financial relief in sight because of ongoing state budget shortfalls. Irvine Unified has been spared layoffs, according to Hadley, through cuts in programs and hikes in fees for busing and food services.

“We took our pain pills early on,” Hadley said.

The current state budget calls for no reduction in the $4,217 in funding provided for each Irvine student. But board members and district budget planners worry that lawmakers may suspend Proposition 98’s funding guarantees for public education unless the state receives by November the federal funds it seeks as reimbursement for costs of handling illegal immigrants. The school board will vote on the adoption of the budget at its Tuesday meeting.

“I’d like to think that it’s pretty unlikely there’s going to be the necessary two-thirds of the legislators who would vote to suspend Proposition 98,” said school board President Mike Regele. “But who knows? This adds a new level of uncertainty.”