HUNTINGTON BEACH UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT WRAP-UP

WHAT HAPPENED:

The board of trustees approved Supt. Susan Roper’s proposal to slash

about $3.5 million from the district’s 2002-03 budget.

WHAT IT MEANS:

The board eliminated more than 50 positions. The cuts hit nearly every

school department except the classroom. No teachers were eliminated,

Roper said.

The board also turned back Roper’s earlier proposal to eliminate the

summer school programs at Coast and Valley Vista high schools.

Instead, the board approved a one-year suspension of the district

newsletter and the $50,000 annual payment to Eileen E. Padberg

Consulting, a Newport Beach public relations firm.

The cuts came after a March 12 round of budget reductions in the face

of a major budget crisis at the state level.

The board also decided not to cut the $76.97 per-student rate paid to

each school in the district for instructional materials.

Trustee Sallie Dashiell voted against the cuts.

Vote: 4-1

NEXT MEETING

When: June 11, 7:30 p.m.

Where: 10251 Yorktown Ave.