SANTA ANA : School Budget Cuts Partially Restored

Trustees of the Santa Ana Unified School District on Wednesday voted to restore a small portion of about $14 million in budget cuts approved earlier this year in anticipation of a drastic reduction in state funding.

The district, which will receive $1.8 million more than expected from the state, restored $1.9 million in cuts under the board’s unanimous decision. The restored funds will save the jobs of 10 bilingual instructional assistants, seven counselors, four psychologists, two music teachers and one nurse.

The board also voted to add two more custodians to the district to help offset the 23 custodial positions that were eliminated from the 1989-90 budget.

In March, the trustees approved across-the-board cuts in 37 areas, including athletics, bilingual education, music and art. More than 100 full-time and part-time positions were eliminated, including some counselors, school nurses, music teachers, librarians and bilingual classroom aides.

“I know that each of us would like to reinstate everything that we cut out, but we only have so many dollars to spend,” district Supt. Rudy M. Castruita said.

Trustees agreed to place $1 million of the additional $1.8 million in state revenue in the district’s reserve account, which at $2.3 million is well below the recommended state minimum of $3.9 million, said Robert W. Giritz, the district’s controller.

“I’m concerned about keeping this district solvent,” Castruita said, adding that several other school districts in the state were near bankruptcy.

The restorations were based on the recommendations of a committee of more than 200 parents, students and district employees. In April, the committee presented the board with a list of 17 priority items to be restored as funding becomes available.

The committee placed bilingual aides as the highest priority, followed by nurses, counselors, library assistants and elementary school music teachers.

Committee member Carolyn Van Herk, president of the district’s classified employees’ association, praised the board for seeking community input in deciding what cuts to restore.

“Everybody really came together,” Van Herk said.

Castruita said that although the additional money is good news, the district will still be forced to cut $13 million from its 1991-92 budget.

“This has been a tough process,” Castruita said. “I wish we could wave a magic wand to get everything back that we lost.”