DISTRICT FORESEES FUND WOES SCHOOL OFFICIALS ARE 'EXPECTING THE WORST'.

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

GLENDALE - An expected $20 billion shortfall in California's budget could mean staff cuts and more crowded classes in the Glendale Unified School District, which gets 90 percent of its money from the state, officials warned Wednesday.

``I'm expecting the worst,'' said Pam Ellis, vice president of the school board. ``These will be the deepest cuts that I've seen in eight years on the board. It's not going to be a good time for public education.''

Steve Hodgeson, the district's chief financial officer, said the district faces a harsher replay of what occurred in September, when the state deferred about $3 million in funding for programs like special education transportation and the district's security guard program.

``We don't know what will happen, but it's an incredibly bleak outlook for next year,'' Hodgeson said. ``It leaves school districts in a very precarious position.''

Gov. Gray Davis is scheduled to present his budget plan to the Legislature on Jan. 10.

``We don't want to under- or over-react based on no information, Hodgeson conceded. ``If you look at it pragmatically, it would be unrealistic to expect anything but funding reductions or deferrals.''

Superintendent Jim Brown said the district staff would be the first to feel the bite.

``More than 80 percent of our budget is spent on personnel,'' he said. ``With less money, we can't keep pace with increases in cost of living.''

The current GUSD general fund is about $197 million, 82 percent of which is for teachers, administrators and other staff.

Ellis, too, warned that staff could be affected.

``What are they going to do when they're really up against the wall? There's really little you can do but cut employees, which means increasing class size,'' Ellis said. Compounding district money concerns is a sudden spike in construction costs for major school renovation projects, 11 of which are in the planning stages.

During the next four years, school construction fees are expected to climb 20 percent, which translates into $15 million that the GUSD was not preparing to spend, Hodgeson said.

The district, however, expects to obtain millions from Proposition 47, the recently approved bond measure to pay for new schools and augment other programs.