Posted on Fri, Mar. 26, 2004

Lawmaker warns educators that deeper cuts may occur

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO - Schools could face cuts beyond the $2 billion agreement reached by the governor and educators if lawmakers have to balance the budget by making harsh health care cuts, the chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee said Thursday.

Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, a former teacher and longtime advocate of public schools, warned educators in a meeting that deeper cuts to schools could be coming.

"I'm going to do what I can to make sure that won't happen," Goldberg said. "But at some point you're at the point in the Health and Human Services budget that you're causing people to die or be harmed."

Education is the single largest expense in the state budget -- totaling about half of the state's $99.1 billion spending plan.

But education groups, including teachers and school administrators, thought they would be spared from many of the budget negotiations this year, said Kevin Gordon, president of the California School Business Officials. In a deal reached with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the coalition agreed to take only $2 billion of the $4 billion in new money the state owed to schools next year.

Schwarzenegger included that plan in the budget proposal he gave lawmakers in January.

Calling further cuts to schools "a horrifying prospect," Goldberg said she met with education lobbyists so they wouldn't be shocked if more cuts to schools were proposed in budget hearings.

"I'd rather do that than put a cap on Healthy Families, cancel drug medication for HIV and AIDS, cap prostate cancer and breast cancer treatment for the poor," she said.

Schwarzenegger's 2004-05 budget proposal included billions in borrowing and fund shifts next year as a way of avoiding service cuts, but he also wants at least $9 billion in savings and program cuts.

"The Republicans say they won't accept new taxes, and I believe them," Goldberg said.

Educators are worried by Goldberg's comment because she leads the Assembly Education Committee and has been a longtime and vocal ally.

"A lot of people were taken aback because this was from someone who is an advocate for public education," Gordon said.

Dealing with extra cuts is difficult, Gordon said, because schools are being asked to do more with less money. "It's an inconsistent message."

In the last few years, California public schools have taken about $3.5 billion in cuts, Gordon said. "Any cuts inflicted this time will bleed the same whether you call them one-time or ongoing."

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the governor's finance department, said the discussions about the education budget are irrelevant until Schwarzenegger releases his revised budget plan in May.

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Last modified: March 26, 2004

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