MOORPARK : Cuts Possible for School District

The Moorpark Unified School District, which may come up about $800,000 short in next year’s budget, could face personnel and program cuts, Supt. Tom Duffy told board members this week.

“It appears very gloomy financially,” Duffy said Wednesday after a state-of-the-district report Tuesday night. “We have a stellar system here and I don’t want to see that eroded. It is a troublesome thing for me. We have effective programs that I don’t want to be harmed, but I don’t know what really will be done.”

Duffy’s remarks spurred concern.

Board member Patty Waters said the district had struggled over last year’s budget. “Last year . . . we were looking at austerity,” Waters said. “This year, we’re looking at devastation.”

Duffy estimated that the 1991-92 budget of about $21 million might run $800,000 short, but that figure will not be determined until a full report is prepared for the board within the next two weeks.

A budget committee will look at ways to trim the budget, but it will be difficult, Duffy said, because the district is growing 10% a year.

Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposed budget, Duffy said, means a probable yearly loss in revenue of $146 per student in the 5,230-student district. Also, the district estimates having to pay Ventura County $115,000 for property tax administration this year.