Compton : School Trustees Unanimously Approve Budget

Bitter division suddenly melted into unanimity Tuesday, when the Compton Unified School District board voted 7 to 0 to approve a $96.5-million operating budget submitted for the coming year by Supt. Ted D. Kimbrough.

“I think everyone realized that the law requires you to have a budget,” said board president Kelvin Filer. “Of course, it’s not etched in stone--there is some flexibility.”

In July, state officials temporarily cut off funds to the 28,000-student district when the board deadlocked 3 to 3 and failed to approve a tentative budget in time to meet a legal deadline. To restore the funding, board member Manuel Correa, who was recovering from heart surgery, rose from his sickbed to cast a tie-breaking vote.

Several board members had been opposed to a budget provision that called for the elimination of 41 security and other non-instructional jobs. But the final budget, which represents a slight increase over last year’s projected revenue, still contains the proposed job cuts, said Assistant Supt. Robert Sampieri.