ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Protesters Demand Immediate Return of All School Funds : Finances: 200 parents, teachers and students call supervisors’ proposal for gradual repayment ‘political fraud.’ Many say the demonstration was a first for them, but they wanted to show their concern.

About 200 parents, teachers and students rallied Tuesday in the shadow of City Hall, cheering and applauding as one speaker after another demanded that the Board of Supervisors return 100% of school funds frozen when the county declared bankruptcy.

To hearty ovations, speakers called a proposal by county supervisors to gradually pay back schools over several years “political fraud.”

“We have one, single message,” said Fran Williams, a parent and teacher at Rancho Santiago College. “Dinero! Ahora! (Money! Now!)”

The rally drew a mix of families, many of them Latinos who said they had never demonstrated before but felt they had to show their concern.

“They’re cutting money for our children, so we are here to protest,” said Noe Reyes, 34, whose 6-year-old son hugged his leg and toyed with a “Kids First” placard.

“This is a first for us, but they will cut programs like music and sports. It affects the kids a lot,” said Reyes, who also has two daughters, ages 8 and 9.

Orange County’s 31 school districts placed a total of $1.1 billion in the county pool, which lost $1.69 billion last year. The funds were frozen by the county’s bankruptcy declaration Dec. 6.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John E. Ryan has approved the release of millions of dollars in emergency aid to the schools, but some districts warn that they may go bankrupt before April if they cannot get the rest of their money.

County Supervisors Marian Bergeson, William G. Steiner and Roger R. Stanton have said they favor fully reimbursing schools, but the board hasn’t taken up the issue.

After the speeches, the group marched through Civic Center Plaza to the Hall of Administration, chanting “Viva educacion!” and “Children first!”

Organizers had predicted 1,000 people from throughout Orange County would be on hand to hear two hours of angry speeches. But final exams and Asian New Year festivities cut into the turnout, organizers said. Santa Ana schools were disproportionately represented at the rally.

“I think people have a false sense of security,” said Bob Sudbeck, who teaches music at four elementary schools. “I’ve heard different parents and teachers say, ‘Well, things are going to be OK.’ But they’re not.”

That was precisely the message speakers tried to stress with the crowd.

“Some of our programs are already suffering,” Williams said, “while we’re waiting, debating, talking.” She referred specifically to special tutoring programs, which she said have been scrapped in many high schools since the county declared bankruptcy.

“We need that. We need that for today’s children,” she said. “There is no reason to wait until tomorrow.”

Much of the day’s significance went over the heads of many protesters, a significant number of whom were elementary school students waving placards bigger than themselves.

Pedro Jauregui, for instance, an 8-year-old student at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana, waved a sign that obscured his hopeful smile. The sign, which the boy had written himself, read simply: “100%”

Jauregui and his younger siblings are struggling with English these days, said his mother, Patricia Jauregui. But they understand what 100% means.

“I explained to them why we’re standing here,” she said.

Many of the speakers ridiculed the idea that schools should stand in line with every county agency that has money frozen by the financial debacle. Police protection, road work and vendors owed money by the county are lower priorities than the schools, speakers said, drawing the loudest applause of the day.

“I’d rather have bad roads than crowded classrooms,” said Mark Perew, a rally organizer. “I’d rather have libraries open for our kids to be in than more cops to arrest our kids.”

Some demonstrators wondered what effect, if any, the event would have on the Board of Supervisors, who were invited but declined to attend.

“It’s a statement,” said Kendall Clark, an English teacher at Jackson Elementary School in Santa Ana. “It seems like there’s money somewhere, and it’s going to have to go to some thing . And the squeaky wheel is going to get the grease.”