Few Changes in School District’s Annual Budget

The Orange Unified School District approved its annual budget without much controversy.

The district will enter the 1996-97 year with a balanced budget of about $119 million, with revenues of about $120 million, said Stanley Oswalt, the interim assistant superintendent for business.

The budget will allow administrators to set aside about $9 million to meet the state mandate for a reserve fund equaling 3% of the district’s budget.

Trustees passed the budget last week, 6-0, with Trustee Max Reissmueller absent.

Oswalt said that putting together this year’s numbers was a “rewarding” experience, but he warned that the budget could change when the state passes its own budget.

The district’s new budget is similar to last year’s, administrators said, reflecting only a 3% cost-of-living increase from the state.

As usual, about 75% of the district’s revenues come from state funds that are linked to student attendance, and about 80% of expenditures will go toward salaries and benefits for teachers and other district employees.

But Oswalt warned against concluding that the district was spending too much on employees.

“I think there is a misconception about how much the Orange Unified School District spends on benefits [for employees],” he said, noting that the average district in the county spends more than 80% of its budget on salaries and benefits.

“Salaries here are the lowest in the county,” he said. “That’s why we have a hard time recruiting and holding teachers.”