Don’t Cut Teachers, Programs, Voters Say

Orange County voters agree that if public schools need to make budget cuts, they should begin with administrators and not teachers and programs, according to a survey to be released today.

The poll, conducted by Pacific Opinions, an Irvine-based research company, found that despite the money woes facing many school districts, 49% of registered voters believe public schools are in “very good shape” or in “somewhat good shape” when it comes to finances, while 29% believe the schools are faring poorly. The rest are not sure.

The poll comes at a time when many districts are beginning to plan budgets for next year, and some are issuing dire warnings about potential budget cuts.

Those polled with children in public schools were far more likely to see budget problems.

“Parents are seeing the schools on a daily basis,” said Christian Collet, president of Pacific Opinions and a visiting professor of political science at UC Irvine. “They know the plasters are coming off the walls.”

The survey was conducted by telephone in English and Spanish from Feb. 11 to 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points, Collet said. Researchers questioned 540 registered voters. One quarter, or 120 respondents, have children in public schools.

If those surveyed had no consensus on the financial state of Orange County public schools, they agreed even less on other problems.

Overcrowding was mentioned most often, with 18% of responses, followed by lack of funding, quality of teaching and campus safety.

The survey represents the opinions of registered voters rather than county residents as a whole. However, Collet said, voters are more likely to have a say in future education policy.

The lack of consensus on a single education issue in Orange County means “the debate and how it will emerge publicly is up for grabs,” Collet said. “Republicans will hammer away at bureaucracy and wasted money and lack of standards, and Democrats will hammer at lack of funding and overcrowded schools.”

The poll reflected such divisions. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say overcrowding was the biggest problem in schools and to express confidence in the way school administrators manage finances.

One area where most seemed to agree was where to make cuts if needed. All groups--Democrats, Republicans and those with or without children in public schools--said they would be more willing to trim administrative positions than teachers’ and programs.

More than two-thirds said that if cuts were necessary, they would be prepared to cut administrative positions. A third said they could tolerate increases in elementary class sizes and 26% said they would do without arts and music programs. Only 12% said they would be willing to cut teacher salaries.

Capistrano Unified Faces $6 Million in Trims

That is a daunting finding for Capistrano Unified School District Supt. James Fleming, who faces the task of announcing to his board of trustees tonight that it will need to cut about $6 million from next year’s budget. Capistrano already has cut nearly $6.5 million from its expenses in the current fiscal year.

Fleming wasn’t surprised that voters were most willing to cut administrative posts.

“I understand where the parents are coming from,” he said. “You know your child’s teacher and most are doing a good job, and the sympathy is understandable.”

With the state predicting a $12-billion budget deficit and districts facing ever-increasing costs in special education, health-care benefits and other areas, Fleming said, the pinch is all too real.

The chief of the 45,000-student district said officials will have to consider increasing class sizes in kindergarten through third grades, among other measures.

Fleming said he will suggest the formation of review groups comprising employees and parents and invite the district unions and PTAs to discuss areas for downsizing.

“It will be a heavy-duty financial task,” he said. “There will be a lot of reality checks.”