EDITORIAL

It was all-too familiar news last week when the Huntington Beach High

School District announced plans to cut more than 30 jobs as part of a

budget reduction of nearly $4 million next year.

It was also all-too familiar that the reason district officials gave

for the needed trimming was a statewide budget crisis. Little nips and

tucks from our schools have been an unfortunate hallmark of our state’s

education system since Proposition 13 passed in 1978, capping property

taxes while at the same time limiting a main source of public school

funding. The loss of elective courses in the arts, in after-school

programs and sports is well-documented. Wealthier school districts have

foundations that raise millions a year to augment what the state cannot

afford to provide.

Among the causalities of this new plan: the summer school program at

two of the eight high schools and a program for disabled students. Jobs

on the block include eight aides in the district’s Communicatively

Handicapped program, five full-time custodial jobs, two vice principals

and a librarian.

The Huntington district is far from alone in this crisis: Just this

week, the Los Angeles Board of Education worked on $385 million in cuts

-- with another $44 million still needed. But while misery loves company,

it does little to solve ongoing budgetary problems. A lasting solution is

clearly what is needed, and this latest job-cutting and belt-tightening

appears to be a reaction to problems, instead of a long-term answer to

the problem.

In the past, there has been talk, for instance, of unifying all three

of Huntington Beach’s school districts. Problems arose over the disparate

pay at the elementary and high schools, but they have largely retreated

over the years as salaries have evened off.

Unification could reduce the number of workers, especiallyat the

managerial level where just one supervisor might be needed instead of

three. A single superintendent, even, could run the whole district. Other

redundant jobs also could be eliminated.

If the state budget crisis is as critical as we are being told, it is

incumbent on district leaders to employ more than just temporary fixes.

And while unification may not ultimately be the answer, it certainly is

the kind of bigger solution that needs to be considered.