Cuts Part of Davis’ Budget for Education

Gov. Gray Davis is set to unveil a state budget today that slightly increases school spending, but still requires $487 million in education cuts to cover the rising cost of teaching public school students.

Most areas of state government are not expected to fare even that well.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Steve Peace, a Democrat from El Cajon, predicted that Davis would offer a combination of $4 billion to $5 billion in cuts and an equal amount in borrowing and new revenue, including counting on more money from the federal government, to make up a projected $12-billion budget shortfall.

On Wednesday, Davis continued to say he opposes raising taxes as a way to help close that gap, but he also left open the possibility that there would be a tax increase as part of a final budget package.

“I don’t anticipate that taxes will be raised,” he said. “I don’t believe the situation warrants new taxes.”

But when he was pressed on whether he was ruling out increasing taxes this year, Davis said: “It doesn’t make sense to get into these rhetorical games.”

The school cuts will enable Davis, a Democrat, to cover the rising cost of educating schoolchildren in the 2002-03 fiscal year--a key priority for many members of the education community who use the discretionary dollars to pay for teacher salaries, new students and school maintenance, among other priorities.

In November, Davis proposed cutting $1.2 billion from education as part of a larger package aimed at narrowing the state’s budget shortfall. The additional $487 million in cuts outlined Wednesday would bring the total 18-month reduction to nearly $1.7 billion.

The new targets include a safety training program for school bus drivers, independent studies programs, and portions of a teacher training program for math and reading. Trimming or delaying spending on those three proposals alone would free up about $190 million, the administration says.

The spending plan Davis will unveil today earmarks $53.9 billion for kindergarten through 12th-grade education, $200 million more than approved this year, not counting the cuts proposed in November.

The plan includes $1.2 billion to cover the rising cost of holding even--such as enrolling new students and giving employees cost-of-living raises. That money is spent at the discretion of school officials, so it’s among their highest priorities in the budget.

Broken down by the amount spent on each student, the Davis budget shows a slight increase: to $7,058 per student from $7,002 in the current fiscal year, before the November cuts.

“We feel we have kept the budget focused on our priority,” said Kerry Mazzoni, Davis’ education secretary.

“Education is the governor’s highest priority.”

Education officials gave Davis’ school plan mixed reviews.

“We hate to see the cuts, but given the economic situation of California we feel the governor had no other alternatives,” said Wayne Johnson of the California Teachers Assn. “The cuts are hurting programs that a lot of our teachers like.”

“While numerous programs are on the chopping block, education funding is going to rise ever so slightly,” added Kevin Gordon, executive director of the California Assn. of Business Officials. “You come out of a situation like this whole, it’s a victory.”

Mary Bergan, president of the California Federation of Teachers, said the Davis plan would not change the fundamental gap between teaching salaries and entry-level wages in other professions.

“Despite the fact that we’re in a bad year, we need to say to ourselves that we’re in an underfunded system,” Bergan said. “An increase in [cost of living] is not enough. That assumes the base is adequate.”

The union plans to push for legislation that would cap the size of new schools--both in square footage and in the number of students who attend them--even though that would increase building costs.

Other school advocates took issue with the Davis proposal to cut programs for independent study--a form of home schooling with teacher involvement--by 10%. The proposed reduction, according to administration officials, is based on the assumption that it costs less to offer independent study programs than their classroom-based counterparts.

But Peter Birdsall, a lobbyist for the California Consortium for Independent Study, said that under state law the student-to-teacher ratio is required to be the same for independent study programs as it is for regular classes.

“It would be a huge problem,” Birdsall said. “If you take away money, you’re taking away staff for those kids.”

Davis has proposed increasing funding for before- and after-school programs by $75 million in 2002-03. The programs seek to keep kids out of trouble by providing them with tutoring and recreational activities. The increase will allow 79,000 more children to participate in the program, for a total of 176,000 students.

Funding for instructional materials will rise by about $20 million and will be restructured to include a $250 million block grant and one-time increases for language arts and library materials in addition to science lab equipment for a total of $626 million.

Administration officials suggested Davis may make a proposal relating to the state’s $508 million annual contribution to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.

A group of state scientists filed suit in Sacramento Superior Court this week seeking a reversal of an agreement reached between the Davis administration and the California Public Employees’ Regiment System; as it stands, the agreement will allow the state to free up about $1 billion by restructuring the state’s contribution to the retirement fund.

Davis appeared across from a construction site at UC Davis to release some details of a proposal to sell $678 million in bonds to finance construction primarily at state colleges and universities. If it’s approved by the Legislature, Davis said, his plan will speed the start of several public works projects and create jobs.

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Times staff writer Robin Fields contributed to this story.