Prop. 187 Cost to L.A. Schools Put at $450 Million : Education: U.S. threatens to withhold the funds, saying the measure would violate privacy laws. Loss of the funds would penalize all students, board president says.

The Los Angeles Unified School District could lose more than $450 million in federal funds--almost 11% of its current budget--if a controversial ballot measure barring undocumented students from attending public schools is approved in November, district officials and Board of Education members said Tuesday.

Although Proposition 187 could reduce the need for teachers and administrators by lowering enrollment, Board of Education President Mark Slavkin said the loss of federal funds would penalize all students and the district would be unable to provide many programs and classes now offered.

The measure on the Nov. 8 ballot would bar illegal immigrants from public schools in California and from non-emergency health care and social services.

U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley has said he will withhold federal funds to school districts if Proposition 187 is approved because the initiative would violate federal privacy regulations. Riley said the measure would require schools to disclose information from education records in violation of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The Los Angeles school district, the largest in the state, would lose more federal money than any other school system in California if Riley followed through on his edict. Of the district’s $4.2-billion budget, $450.5 million comes from the federal government--mainly for programs for disadvantaged students and bilingual education classes. Statewide, school districts could lose up to $2.3 billion.

“We’d lose a hell of a lot of money,” said Bill Rivera, Los Angeles school district spokesman. “We’d lose a lot more revenue than we’d save.”

Supporters of Proposition 187 said Tuesday that courts would not allow the schools to ultimately lose federal funding and that the threats are being used to confuse the voters.

“There’s no realistic chance that could happen,” said Ron Prince, the Orange County-based campaign chairman. “We have to separate political rhetoric from reality.”

The federal funds that officials said they would lose are provided mainly for programs for disadvantaged students, nutrition programs and vocational education courses. Some of the federal money is in the form of grants for special programs at selected schools.

Under the proposition, districts next year would be required to verify students’ legal residency or citizenship status. Students who are here illegally would be expelled from the school system. Within two years, schools also would be required to confirm the residency status of parents and guardians.

“We would be turning in students and their parents,” Slavkin said. “In some areas of this district, this could have a very significant impact.”

On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and Sheriff Sherman Block warned that Proposition 187, by barring thousands of students from the classroom, could spell trouble on the streets.

“It is very obvious that youngsters not engaged in positive, constructive activity are prone to getting into mischief,” Block said. “And youngsters who are on the street, unsupervised, are prone to victimization of various kinds.”

“At a minimum, we will see a substantial increase in crime with those youngsters who are not permitted to go to school,” Garcetti said. “The reason we work so hard at getting truants into school is we know that if they stay in school they are much, much less likely to be involved in crime and the criminal justice system.”

The district, which contends it has no way of knowing how many students are undocumented, currently is barred from asking students to show proof of citizenship. Schools frequently check birth certificates to verify age but keep no records of students’ birthplaces or immigration status.

But some board members have estimated that the number of undocumented students could top 100,000. Total enrollment is about 640,000. A district survey taken last year found that 81,655 students are immigrants who have been in the United States for three years or less. Nearly 300,000 students in the district speak limited English, and school officials said American-born students--and U.S. citizens--are included in that group.

Of the 5.2 million students statewide, the state Department of Education estimates that between 300,000 and 400,000 are undocumented immigrants.

Slavkin also predicted that the school board would join other groups in fighting the measure in court if it is approved, citing a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said illegal immigrant children are entitled to public education.

While school board members said the absence of large numbers of undocumented children might save the district the cost of some teachers and classes, the savings would be more than offset by the cutoff of federal revenue. “It will be devastating,” said board member Julie Korenstein.

The measure would cost the state $78 million to $104 million in the first year and $12 million to $19 million in future years to verify students’ legal status, the state Department of Education said.