In a discussion capped by an assistant superintendent leaving
the meeting in anger, School Board trustees asked for details and
budgets on the Sobrato High project from district officials during
the continuation of Monday night
’s regular board meeting on Tuesday night.
In a discussion capped by an assistant superintendent leaving the meeting in anger, School Board trustees asked for details and budgets on the Sobrato High project from district officials during the continuation of Monday night’s regular board meeting on Tuesday night.
The board room was filled with concerned parents,who at times spoke up from the audience, and frequently applauded and expressed disapproval of various comments by speakers, trustees and district officials.
To kick off the discussion, Barbara Williams, worksite organizer for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representing the district’s classified workers, accused Superintendent Carolyn McKennan of violating the union’s contract in funding the new positions for Sobrato, which is scheduled to open for ninth and 10th graders in August.
In the agenda for the board meeting, an item for discussion by board members listed layoffs of classified employees at both Britton and Martin Murphy middle schools. The layoffs, retirements and reduction in hours, according to the staff report, represent a “savings” of $143,200 which would offset Sobrato staffing costs.
“To propose these additional cuts to classified workers without negotiations is not only a violation of the contract, but the way in which the superintendent handled them shows a complete lack of respect for classified workers,” Williams said.
Williams said a committee of SEIU representatives and secondary principals reached an agreement on a portion of the savings from classified workers’ salaries.
The agreement included: the retirement of a Martin Murphy receptionist ($28,000); layoff of a Britton receptionist ($20,000); layoff of a student supervisor ($12,500); a cut in hours for a senior clerk typist ($9,500); and a cut in hours for a Britton clerk typist ($8,330).
The committee, Williams said, also reached agreement on how to realign positions to keep reduction of hours and layoffs to a minimum.
“Those cuts, equaling $78,300, were too little for the superintendent,” she said. “Rather than send the committee of principals and SEIU members back to the drawing board, last Wednesday, she unilaterally added another $64,900 in layoffs and reductions in hours to classified positions. She then placed this information item on the Board agenda with no negotiation or discussion with the SEIU.”
“The principals who were on the costing committee also were completely caught off guard. The employees whose positions the superintendent reduced in hours or eliminated received no prior notification.”
Assistant Superintendent Denise Tate, who heads the human resources department for the district, took responsibility.
“I’m the one that prepared the report,” she said. “I’m the one that should be taken to task. I apologize to the classified employees. I’m sorry you were not communicated with professionally and in an appropriate manner.”
Tate went on to explain that a paragraph on the back of the sheet listing the cost savings explained that: “Discussions will continue with the middle school staffs to determine whether other alternatives exist to achieve the same dollar savings to shift to Ann Sobrato High School to cover the cost of its classified staff.”
The back of the page, Tate said, was not printed out in the agendas the classified employees saw.
The level of emotion continued to escalate, as Trustee Amina Khemici started asking questions.
“I’m happy (about the announcement of Sobrato staff) and sad at the same time, and I’m trying to be realistic about this, knowing what we have in the budget,” she said. “Why are we letting people go?”
Tate replied that a position, rather than a person, would be lost. She told trustees that there will be seven new classified positions at Sobrato, and that 7.375 positions at the middle schools would be lost.
“Hopefully, seven people will volunteer to be transferred, but if they do not voluntarily, then they could be involuntarily transferred to a position,” she said.
Classified employees are on a merit scale, and if they qualify they can be transferred. There will be a special test for these positions, she said, in case the current employees are not at the right level.
Tate added that classified workers who lose hours would not only lose the hourly wage but also lost the district’s contribution to their benefits package.
Khemici also asked about custodians, saying even though students would move from the middle schools to the high schools, “the buildings are still the same, the work is still the same.”
She was also concerned that no new custodian would be hired to take care of Sobrato High.
“We’re building a multi-million dollar high school, and we have no one to take care of it,” she said. “That just doesn’t make sense.”
Then she asked why trustees had not seen an operating budget for Sobrato, with estimates of utility bills.
“Al Solis (director of construction and modernization for the district) told me it is a work in progress,” Tate said. “He is working on it and should have it by the end of February.”
Khemici then questioned how the district could go forward with the high school if they didn’t have an operating budget.
At that point, McKennan addressed Khemici, telling her that answers to some of her questions were not available.
“I feel awkward that we are peppering people with questions and making people defend themselves for doing the jobs they have been asked to do,” McKennan said. “I don’t want to make Mrs. Tate feel defensive. Let’s work together to make this work.”
She told Khemici that if Sobrato “generates more students,” then the district could afford more services, possibly such as a custodian. She also said that the operating costs would be determined, in part, by the number of students attending, because the water and electricity could possibly be turned off in areas that will not be used until more grade levels are added.
As of Tuesday, according to Tate’s report, Sobrato had 749 students registered, 387 ninth graders and 362 10th graders, while Live Oak had 540, 9th and 10th grades combined. She also said as of Tuesday there were approximately 80 Sobrato students interested in transferring to Live Oak, and approximately 22 Live Oak students who wanted to transfer to Sobrato.
Khemici said, after McKennan’s intervention, that her intention was not to put Tate on the defensive.
“I’m just concerned because we don’t have money, and we see all these costs coming up,” she said.
The emotional intensity of the meeting continued to ramp up with Khemici’s questions about the Sobrato pool. She said she had heard their were problems with the new Live Oak pool, which Principal Nancy Serigstad confirmed. Khemici then said she didn’t know it was decided that the Sobrato pool was to be built, but yet district officials were talking about it being completed in time for school to open.
Trustee Shellé Thomas agreed with Khemici.
“It’s my understanding that it is on the list of cuts, of possible cuts, that we could make if we have escalating costs or to stay within our budget,” she said. “I think it’s great to have it, but to put it out here as something definite when we haven’t even seen a budget, that’s not right.”
Sobrato Principal Rich Knapp said, “Perhaps it is more appropriate to say it is planned.”
The discussion then briefly turned to the classified staff. Trustee Del Foster suggested the possibility that some of the jobs be shared, and noted that the workload in some positions both at the middle schools, which will be losing a grade level each, and at Sobrato, which will open with only two grade levels, would be less.
Tate said discussions on staffing and blending of jobs would continue.
The district is not anticipating creating new teaching positions to staff Sobrato classrooms. Teachers would transfer from other schools in the district.
Foster then turned the discussion back to Sobrato’s operating costs, saying he believed that with a smaller population and presumably more energy efficient buildings that some other district schools, the operating costs could be kept down. He also said that he would like to see a rough estimate of an operating budget.
Thomas said she is very concerned about the financial situation of the district.
“Here’s my problem – I’d like to think I could be a Pollyanna, I’d like to think I can not put you in a position to be defensive, but the (audit) report last night that said our main problem is we don’t know how the money is being spent,” she said.
She said she would like the district to provide a monthly statement showing how much has been spent and how much debt the district is incurring. She also said she was uncomfortable with the Sobrato staffing report without Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini, who heads the business services department, present to answer questions. Tognazzini had a previous commitment for Tuesday night.
Tate told Thomas that the report had been reviewed by Tognazzini.
Thomas said, “I guess I need to hear it from Bonnie.”
Tate then said, “I guess my word isn’t good enough,” and gathered her things together and left the meeting.
An emotional Knapp told trustees he would like to see some “hope and excitement” about the new high school, before also leaving the meeting.
Knapp said Thursday that while he can understand the trustees’ concerns about a Sobrato budget, he believes the district will work it out.
“You make a decision on what you’re going to do, and then do what you need to do to make it happen,” he said. “If you need to, you do some re-prioritizing, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We lose sight of the fact that this is about educating kids. We’ve had this disconnect for so long, with the ninth graders in the high school, and we see the results in the data. I’m very distressed when I look at the data.”
The Dec. 12 and 13 Board Meeting was taped and will be broadcast on cable channel 19 on Saturday at 8 p.m.
