ORANGE : School District Has Unexpected Good Fortune: $3 Million

The Orange Unified School District has an extra $3 million to spend, thanks to an unexpected enrollment increase and a review of the budget by the new administration.

About 300 new students have enrolled in district schools this year, Supt. Robert L. French told the board of education at a meeting Wednesday. That increase, and a raise in state lottery funds, gave the district an extra $2 million.

A budget review ordered by French, who was hired in September, also turned up a “recalculation” of income from interest that will bring about $1 million, according to the budget report.

The district will spend about $500,000 in extra costs brought on by the new students, acting Assistant Supt. Harvey Grimshaw said. But officials will be able to submit a new budget to the state that includes the 3% reserve required for the district’s $108-million budget. The reserve had been short about $400,000.

“This will provide the opportunity for the district to unquestionably certify (with the state) as opposed to the qualified certification which would lead us down the road to greater scrutiny by the state and county,” Grimshaw said.

Trustees said they were glad the earlier budget projections had been off-base.

“This has been a tough two to three years for the district to try and get some stability,” Trustee Robert Viviano said.

The district’s unions were also interested in the new budget.

Becky Mayers, president of the local chapter of the California School Employees Assn., said her union will ask the district to share the wealth. The non-teaching employees took a 2.5% pay cut last year.

Teachers will be negotiating their contract Friday and union president David Reger said he anticipates good news. The teachers took a pay cut three years ago and have not had a raise since, although some have had bonuses.