Energy: Down and Out in Beverly Hills

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Along with Saudi Arabia and Mexico, the Beverly Hills Unified School District is facing hard times because of plunging oil prices. Since the 1920s, the school district has bolstered its budget with revenues from oil wells behind Beverly Hills High that overlook the athletic fields. An oil company leases the land from the school district and pays royalties based on the profits it makes from the wells. When petroleum prices shot up in the 1970s, the district's annual oil earnings jumped to $1.5 million. The extra revenue has helped Beverly Hills pay its teachers a handsome $38,000 a year, or $10,000 more than the national average.

But the Beverly Hills money gusher may be running dry. The drop in the price of oil to less than $15 per bbl. could mean a loss of $750,000 in revenue for the school district this year. To curb spending, the school board has decided to hold raises to 5% and may lay off some teachers, janitors, groundskeepers and cafeteria workers.