The Grossmont Union High School District board passed a $203.6 million budget last week that included dozens of job cuts, although not as many as officials had envisioned.

The board restored 15 teaching and classified positions at the last minute by shifting $1 million from the district's reserves to its spending fund.

The board last month asked district officials to find a way to reduce the number of job cuts. The jobs restored are for seven teachers, five custodians, one carpenter, one buyer, and one student services secretary.

The budget was unanimously adopted by the board, but will likely be revised after a state budget is passed.

For now, the district projects $181.9 million in state funding and $181.3 million in expenditures. The year-end balance is projected to be $21.7 million, which includes state-required emergency and other funds.

The budget adopted does not include salary increases, which are subject to negotiations between the district and employee groups and available funding.

The district had planned to eliminate 117 classified positions, but reduced that number to 109 last week. Fifty-one of those positions were vacant already and will not be filled, said Scott Patterson, deputy superintendent for business services. Fifty-eight classified employees were laid off, he said.

About 100 certificated employees, mainly probationary teachers, were given notices in March that they could be laid off, but only about 45 jobs were seriously considered.

Several teaching positions were eliminated but few employees were laid off because of retirements and the shifting of funds last week. Four probationary and temporary teachers were laid off. The average class size will increase to 35.5 students next year from 34 this year as a result of fewer teachers being employed, Patterson said.

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Leonel Sanchez: (619) 542-4568; leonel.sanchez@ uniontrib.com