Cities and schools fear state cutbacks

Deirdre Newman

School district and city officials are feeling like the turkey the

week before Thanksgiving, worrying about effects of the state budget

crisis.

They know the future is bleak, but they’re not sure where they

will end up when the ax falls.

Gov. Gray Davis and the legislature are meeting in a special

session on Dec. 9 to cut about $5 billion from the state budget as

the first step in erasing a deficit of more than $21 billion.

While local officials aren’t sure how much will be cut to cities

and school districts, their concern is amplified because these two

entities are easy targets.

“Anytime that there’s a state budget cut with a number of this

significance, it always seems to be off of the backs of local

government, and that’s where my concern is,” Newport Beach Councilman

Steve Bromberg said.

Although budget cuts affect smaller cities worse than larger ones,

Newport Beach is well positioned to absorb a hit because it has a

healthy reserve and it’s one of the few debt-free cities in Orange

County, Bromberg said.

Costa Mesa also has a strong reserve, City Councilman Gary Monahan

said. But he is still forecasting a lean year for 2003.

“There won’t be a lot of new programs or hiring of staff,” Monahan

said. “We’re very concerned at the city level. The discussions all

through the last year have been, what is the state going to do to

cover its budget?”

Monahan said the city would only dip into its reserve as a last

resort, but and that wouldn’t even help if the city slashes an

ongoing source of funding.

While the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has prepared for

major cuts in funding by increasing its reserves, it may not be

enough, Assistant Supt. Paul Reed said. Like his peers in city

government, Reed is also wrestling with the amount and type of the

cuts.

“Is the funding going to be taken away forever?” Reed asked. “Is

it to be delayed for a set period of time? Is the state going to

specify which programs are to be shut down or will local school

boards be left with the problem of deciding what goes and what

stays?”

Reed said he has heard rumors that the majority of the $5 billion

that Davis plans to cut may be directed from education. If so,

Newport-Mesa will face the same bleak prospect as other districts

around the state, since many districts already committed the money

that the state promised in September.

Even if the cuts to education are only about $2 billion, it would

represent a loss of about $7 million for the district, Reed said.

“No amount of preparation could insulate Newport-Mesa from an

ongoing cut of $7 million,” Reed said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

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