Chino valley school district budget forum addresses budget concerns

Superintendent Edmond Heatley said dealing with the school district's deficit projection as "something I would not wish on my worst enemy."

The Chino Valley Unified School District superintendent on Tuesday addressed concerns about a looming $50 million three-year budget crisis at an after-school meeting at Magnolia Junior High School.

Fifty parents and staff pressed Heatley for information about possible cuts.

"I guess the biggest fear I have right now is losing some really qualified teachers that my children have," parent Susan Fekete said.

Cost-saving measures that were discussed at the meeting include laying off teachers and employees as well as holding high school graduations at the Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

"Let me say holistically, everything is on the table, and there's a possibility there will be less people in the Chino Valley family tomorrow then there are today," Heatley said.

"So yes, layoffs are possible, but we're doing everything in our power to minimize this."

Another possibility to save costs involves installing artificial turf in the district's high school stadiums at stadiums at Chino, Chino Hills and Ayala high schools to reduce maintenance costs.

Considering the current economic crisis, Fekete said it wasn't the time to spend money on turf.

The turf project may cost about $1 million per school with funds coming from Measure M, a bond issue whose money can only by used for school improvement work, and developer fees for the turf proposed at Chino Hills High School.

The turf would save on maintenance costs and "as more schools throughout the area move to it, we need to stay competitive," district spokeswoman Julie Gobin said.

Still, Fekete said, "I feel that there are upgrades needed on the school sites; tech upgrades need to be accomplished first."

Parents opposed to the project -- which is expected to be considered by the Board of Education in April -- cited concerns about increased heat from turf, maintenance costs, burn injuries and a fear that graduations would not be held at schools in order to avoid turf damage.

"I have the sense that the money can be used in a better way," parent Sally Santoya said about the turf plan. "I think we're rushed into something they haven't really looked into."

Santoya said the Ontario arena graduation plan could pose problems for families.

"I have a senior and I'm concerned how to get the kids up there," she said. "Some parents at our school don't all have cars ... It might be a hardship to get up there."

A parent asked if the turf was the reason why graduations would be held at the Ontario arena. Heatley said it was not, but added "because we have this opportunity, the turf will have the opportunity to go in."

"It's also cheaper to rent the facility," Heatley said. "A lot of things come with the facility, with the audio-visual equipment, the staff, the location, the parking, easier ingress and exit. So there's other reasons to do it, but it's not being done because of turf."

Gobin said the venue will help with seating capacity for graduation guests.

Graduation on June 10 for Chino Hills High will be at 3 p.m. while Chino High's ceremony will be at 7 p.m.

On June 11, Ayala High graduates at 4 p.m. and Don Lugo High School will be at 8 p.m.