District unfazed by governor’s budget proposal

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT-MESA -- The governor’s sleight of hand in creating the revised

budget for 2002-03 on Tuesday is being met with guarded optimism by

school officials.

“At first glance, I think we’re going to be OK,” said Newport-Mesa

Unified School District Supt. Robert Barbot. “We just want to be careful

that we’re not celebrating too soon.”

Gov. Gray Davis’ proposal calls for a combination of budget cuts,

revenue increases and a combination of refinancing, borrowing and

transfers to compensate for a $23.6-billion revenue shortfall.

To prevent cuts in education, Davis is proposing to shift $1.12

billion in education spending from the current fiscal year to 2002-03.

This manipulation is possible because of previous over funding of

Proposition 98, which passed in 1988 and guarantees minimum levels of

school funding, said Sandy Harrison, spokesman for the state department

of finance.

Barbot said district officials will take some time to pore through the

budget more thoroughly. To be safe, the district will hold back 20% of

categorical funding -- money tied to specific programs -- in its own

budget until officials get a sense of the Legislature’s reaction to the

state budget and to give them some breathing room.

Even if the state eventually decreases its categorical funding, it

would not have a major adverse effect on the school district because it

tries not to rely on this kind of funding, which can fluctuate with

political tides, Barbot said.

The district is also expecting an increase in federal categorical

money, Barbot added.

And the district is also fairly immune from state budget woes because

of its conservative spending practices and the fact that it gets most of

its funding from property taxes, which Barbot believes will be slightly

increased from those received last year.

Trustee Wendy Leece echoed Barbot’s cautious attitude about the

budget.

“It’s good news,” Leece said. “The governor is known for saying a lot

of things, but the reality is we’ll see if it matches up.”

A critical part of the community college program received a

significant boost. CalWORKS, a nationally recognized program that

provides welfare recipients with training and education to become

self-sufficient, had $20 million restored to its budget after facing a

$58-million cut in the January budget.

The governor has not proposed any increases for the University of

California and California State University systems.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .