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Schools

Capo Losing Two Major Finance Experts

A budget manager and the head of the department are both headed for other ventures.

Two key officials in the ’s financial division are leaving the district, including the head of the department.

Ron Lebs will leave his position as the deputy superintendent of business services to become the assistant superintendent of business services in the Fullerton Joint Union High School. That district’s board of trustees voted to hire Lebs in a special meeting on Monday.

In addition, the Orange County Department of Education has tapped Capo’s Penny Larsen as a financial analyst, that department confirmed. Larsen is a budget manager who started with Capo in August. She’ll begin her new role Jan. 3.

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Lebs first came to the district in July 2008, overseeing a budget that has suffered nearly $80 million in reductions in that time, according to district spokesman Marcus Walton. Before that, he served for nine years with the Sylvan Union School District in Modesto, first as director of facilities and then as chief business officer.

, his entire tenure at Capo has been characterized by tough financial times and uncertainty. It is currently facing a severe cash-flow problem which may prompt the need for a third short-term loan that crosses fiscal years. The district has already borrowed $75 million this year.

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Then on Tuesday, to address the state’s huge deficits. For Capo, that means cutting $1.7 million from the current year’s budget.

Fullerton’s is a much smaller district than Capo. Serving 16,343 high school students, it has eight total schools: six comprehensive high schools, an alternative high school and a continuation high school. By comparison, Capistrano has 56 campuses and about 51,000 students.

The joint union school district does not keep many financial records online. The last available report was for the 2009-10 school year, which ended with the district making $7 million in cuts and netting a $26.3 million positive fund balance.

Walton said the district will initiate a regional search for a deputy superintendent of business and support services and will identify an interim appointment while that process is ongoing.

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