City Schools Ordered to Cut $940,000 of Sports Budget : Reductions: No sports to be eliminated, but transportation expenses and coaches’ salaries expected to be slashed.

Severe budget cuts in the Los Angeles Unified School District made their impact on athletics Wednesday when the Board of Education ordered across-the-board reductions next year totaling $940,000.

By a 4-2 vote, the board approved a 20% cut in the athletic department’s 1991-92 budget of $4.7 million. The board stipulated that the reductions be shared by all sports and that none be eliminated. It asked that the shortfall be made up by cutting coaches’ salaries, transportation costs and athletic office expenses. Scaled-back staff supervision of winter sports is another possibility.

“Right now, we’re not sure how long we have to balance our budget and decide what will get cut and by how much,” said Dick Browning, a support service administrator in the senior high school division. “At this point, we don’t plan on eliminating anything, but certainly we’re going to have to reduce what we do. There aren’t many options.”

With the district facing $241 million in cuts, board member Mark Slavkin had proposed eliminating athletics altogether.

“When I have to choose between sports and cuts in the classroom, it is not a tough call for me,” Slavkin said. “When you have to cut a quarter of a billion dollars, something has to go. I think we have to make a stand. Our basic mission here is not sports.”

Board member Roberta Weintraub, who voted against athletic cuts, disagreed, saying: “Sports is the greatest dropout prevention program we have in the district.”

Although Browning is unsure of specific cuts, he said his office will attempt to reduce transportation costs. Transportation accounts for 40% of the athletic budget. He said bus costs can be reduced by eliminating some practice and playoff games and indicated that some sports may have to rely on transportation provided by students or parents.

Paid coaching positions also are likely to be reduced. The district’s 49 high schools have five paid football coaching positions.

“I can guarantee we will probably lose two of those positions,” said Ron Price, football coach at Fairfax High. “I have a hard enough time finding enough coaches when I can pay them, but take away that and it will be almost impossible. The end result will be a lot of young kids without a coach.”

The 20% cut came as a surprise to most administrators. Last week, the board asked the athletic office to come up with 2% to 3% in possible cuts. A recommendation eliminating certain junior varsity sports was to be presented. Now that the board has significantly decreased the budget while stipulating that nothing be eliminated, problems are bound to arise.

Hal Harkness, district athletic commissioner, said meeting those demands will not be easy. “They don’t want us to move or cut anything, so I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said. “We may have to look at moving winter sports.”

Two months ago, the board approved a $1.2-million budget increase for athletics to keep the winter sports season intact. The district is going to year-round school sessions in July, and because 43 of the 49 schools will be closed for six weeks during the winter, extra money was needed to keep boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ soccer and wrestling seasons in their traditional schedules. The additional funds are to cover coaching stipends, faculty supervision and additional transportation needs during the vacation period.

Now, the possibility looms that winter sports will be adjusted so that there is no practice or competition during the six-week vacation period. Although the board is against such a move, Harkness said it will have to be considered.

Times education writer Sandy Banks contributed to this story.