IRVINE : School District Weighs $2.2 Million in Cuts

Irvine Unified School District budget planners tonight will recommend $2.2 million in cuts to school services, about $800,000 less than they had originally anticipated.

The revisions could spare special-education programs and school libraries from budget cuts for the next school year, school board member Margie Wakeham said. Parents and teachers have strongly objected to cuts proposed for both areas.

District officials say that a reduced estimate of financial losses in the county bankruptcy--combined with higher district revenue--decreased the projected budget shortfall to about $2 million for the 1995-96 school year.

The estimate is $1 million less than projected in February. But to stay on the conservative side, district officials are recommending an additional $200,000 in cuts.

The school board has scheduled a May 16 vote on the budget cuts.

District officials now estimate potential losses under the pool settlement plan, scheduled to go before a Bankruptcy Court judge today, at $8.5 million, down from the previous estimate of $10.7 million.

“It’s not really good news,” Wakeham said. “It’s just less bad.”

But the district is still facing the formidable task of repaying a $54.5-million bond due which is June 13.

The Irvine Ranch Water District and the City Council have offered short-term financial help to the district to prevent bankruptcy, but an agreement between the three agencies has not yet been reached.