L.A. Unified Trims Another $57.4 Million

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to cut $57.4 million from its proposed 2003-04 budget, but postponed action on the controversial plan to furlough the Los Angeles Unified School District’s 80,000 employees for up to five days without pay next year as a way of dealing with a projected $381-million budget shortfall.

However, even with the $36 million the school district trimmed from its budget earlier this month, the board is less than a quarter of the way to the cuts it needs to compensate for the projected shortfall to its $6.8-billion operating budget.

Cuts made by the board Tuesday included $2.3 million from teacher peer assistance programs; $500,000 by increasing the size of each intersession class by one student; and $36 million from district offices.

The board will consider the furlough proposal, as well as suggested cuts in instructional materials, desegregation programs and deferred maintenance, at its next meeting on Tuesday.