Trustees to Meet on District’s Budget

The board of education of the Las Virgenes Unified School District will meet Monday for a study session on the district’s fiscal 1996-97 budget.

Figures have not been finalized, but the agency appears fiscally sound, said Donald Zimring, the district’s assistant superintendent of business. The district’s total budget last year was about $45 million, he said.

However, he said, officials are monitoring the progress of a 1992 lawsuit against the state by the California Teachers Assn. The district is slated to receive $540,000 over a two-year period for its share of a settlement, but Zimring said he’s not sure whether the district will receive money in time to include it in next year’s budget.

The district would have to dip into reserve funds if the settlement money doesn’t come in time, Zimring said. There is $3 million in the reserve fund, he said.

The district had anticipated decreased enrollments for the 1995-96 school year and had planned steep cuts to make up for lost revenue from the state, which disburses $3,230 per student, officials said. However, enrollments turned out to be far higher than expected, and the crisis passed. Officials predict that enrollment will increase about 1.25%--a roughly normal yearly increase.

Officials say the district eventually will need to build a new elementary and a new middle school. To pay for them, the district is considering placing a bond measure in the $30-million range on the March ballot.

Monday’s meeting will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the district headquarters, 4111 N. Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas.