In a crusade to save the school district money, Morgan Hill
Unified’s plan proved successful: $584,000 was not spent thanks to
an early retirement incentive offered to administrators, teachers
and classified staff. That amount was enough to rescind 33 pinks
slips that were handed out in March to prepare for the uncertainty
of how much state funding the district would receive.
In a crusade to save the school district money, Morgan Hill Unified’s plan proved successful: $584,000 was not spent thanks to an early retirement incentive offered to administrators, teachers and classified staff.
That amount was enough to rescind 33 pinks slips that were handed out in March to prepare for the uncertainty of how much state funding the district would receive.
An increase in class sizes for kindergarten through third grade from 20 students to one teacher, to 24 students to one, further helped to protect jobs.
On the teacher side, 29 took advantage of the deal to save the district $566,000. Each employee added $25,000 to their accounts. On the classified side, including bus drivers, food service employees and custodians, 17 accepted a variety of payments based on their salary schedule and job placement to safeguard about $33,000.
It’s unusual to offer an early retirement incentive for classified staff because doing so is not typically cost-effective, the district said.
Four management employees participated saving $4,000, but because two have teaching certificates the district paid $19,000 due to the different agreements with bargaining units.
In other school district news, the board will reconvene today at 6 p.m. for its only meeting this month. On the agenda is a request to approve Feb. 22, 2011 as the day to observe Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. The holiday will be a part of the planned weeklong winter break scheduled that month.
Also in a shift toward improving energy efficiency, the board will vote to approve a partnership with Indoor Environment Services to analyze ways the district can conserve. IES presented several new ideas to the district in July that included replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at Martin Murphy Middle School.
The effort will use funds already allocated for such projects to keep projects cost-neutral by ensuring they are paid for by the savings from the update. The Santa Rosa company will also investigate grants and utility rebate programs for the district in addition to the Martin Murphy replacements.
School board meeting
Where: District boardroom, 15600 Concord Circle
When: 6 p.m. today
