Lower Tax Revenues Adds to Laguna Beach Schools’ Woes

The already financially shaken Laguna Beach Unified School District learned Friday that it probably will receive $100,000 less in property taxes than expected.

“It’s not good news, that’s all I can say,” said Supt. Paul M. Possemato, whose district already was wrestling with a $1-million budget shortfall for the coming school year. “It just keeps coming, doesn’t it?”

Last week the district sent layoff notices to 33 teachers and announced a cutback in enrichment programs, moves that stunned parents and teachers. Possemato said the community was just recovering from that shock when this latest news hit.

Word that the assessed value of property that is not transferred will increase 1.11%, rather than the 1.3% the district had expected, came from Schools For Sound Finance, an analyst and lobbying group for districts that rely on property taxes for at least 85% of their revenue. (Most districts rely primarily on state funds based on daily attendance.)

“Those deviations, even though small, [are] significant in terms of the total property tax we can anticipate,” Possemato said. He said the district “must continue to be extremely conservative” for the 1996-97 school year, which has a $13.4-million budget.

With the district already struggling, any report that property values are not rising at the rate expected is bad news, mainly because it means it will take longer for the district to solve its financial problems, Possemato said. The district can recover only with an accelerated stream of property tax revenues, he said.

“That’s the more serious issue,” he said.

About 15 Laguna Beach residents, including those with financial expertise, have volunteered to meet Thursday night to begin analyzing information and to help decide how the district should make cuts and generate money in preparation for coming budget sessions, Possemato said.