Science Center Gets Disputed State Check

A controversial $4-million check from the state government will be presented to the Discovery Science Center today, the math and science museum’s largest cash donation to date, officials said.

The California Teachers Assn. has publicly stated that it will file a lawsuit opposing the use of the money for the Science Center and other museums, because they are not school districts.

“If you’re going to give [the museums] money, why not give money to the local zoo whenever the kids go there?” said Owen Waters, a legislative advocate for the teachers group. “This money is ripped off from all the school districts in Orange County.”

The money, part of the 1995-96 state budget, will come from general fund revenue earmarked for school districts under Proposition 98. State officials have countered that the museums are educational and so may benefit from Proposition 98, which requires the state to maintain kindergarten to community college funding every year and to adjust for enrollment and cost-of-living increases.

State Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Anaheim), who lobbied for the Science Center money, will present the check during a ceremony at Garfield Elementary School in Santa Ana.

The Science Center is scheduled to open at Main Street and the Santa Ana Freeway in the fall of 1997. Including the $4 million, the center has raised $15.8 million of the $25 million needed, said spokeswoman Pam Shambra.

The museum’s largest single gift to date has come from the city of Santa Ana, which has donated about four acres, valued at $3.75 million, and 10 years’ free rent, valued at $1.25 million, said Karen Johnson, the Discovery Center’s executive director.