Although all but 2.8 of the certified teachers in the School
District who received layoff notices have been reinstated, there
are still many district employees who don
’t yet know what the future holds for them.
Although all but 2.8 of the certified teachers in the School District who received layoff notices have been reinstated, there are still many district employees who don’t yet know what the future holds for them.
Temporary teachers have been waiting to find out whether they will be hhired as probationary teachers for next year.
But another group of district employees suffering the uncertainties of the budget-slashing process, do know what is in store for them. The classified employees have taken the brunt of the cuts, with many custodians, groundskeepers and transportation employees losing their jobs, while clerical hours were cut drastically, some losing as much as a month a year.
During their April 7 meeting, School Board trustees voted 6-1, Trustee Amina Khemici against, to cut 36 classified positions as a part of a $1.9 million package of cuts. The positions include 11 custodians (four that are retiring will not be replaced), two mechanics (leaving two mechanics in a shop that is open 12.5 hours per day), a groundskeeper, 10 bus drivers, and two maintenance technicians.
At their May 19 meeting, the vote was 6-0, with Jan Masuda absent, to cuts for 31 additional classified employees. The cuts included: one senior account clerk position in adult education; 13 days each for eight employees in Business Services; 20 days each for five positions in Educational Services; 13 days each for two positions in facilities; 13 days each for seven positions in grounds; and 13 days each for eight positions in maintenance.
Barbara Williams, a work site organizer for the classified union, Service Employees International Union #715, addressed the board during the May 19 meeting.
“I have seen layoffs before, but this is the worst of bad times I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “I feel the classified employees have been put way on the back burner. What is not being realized here is that the district cannot run without classified employees.”
The trustees have expressed a concern for making budget cuts away from the classroom, however, and as a result, most of the teachers have been reinstated, and many of the temporary teachers will be.
Assistant Superintendent Denise Tate, in charge of human resources for the district, said there are 38 teachers who have temporary status.
“When you are a temporary employee, you know when your last day of work will be,” she said. “When you sign your offer of employment, it contains your last day of work. You start in August and end on June 13. This is a one-year assignment.”
Tate said temporary employees take the place of an employee who is on leave.
“The job doesn’t belong to a temporary employee, the job belongs to a permanent employee on leave,” she said. “For example, at the elementary level, we have 10 literacy coaches funded by categorical dollars – we refer to that as soft money, and soft money can go away at any time.
“So the literacy coaches have the property right to a regular teaching job in the district. Therefore we hire 10 elementary teachers and place them on a temporary contract. They are holding the job. The man or woman who held the place this year may well be given a probationary contract for next year as a result of the retirements and for next year there may be a different temporary teacher holding the job.”
Tate said the usual practice in the district was to hire most, if not all, of the temporary teachers as probationary teachers after their assignments are over.
“We hold them (temporary teachers) to the same standards as our probationary teachers; they are evaluated, they are given support in the way of inservice time,” she said. “We certainly do not want people in whom we’ve invested time and energy to be picked up by someone else. It is our goal to employ our excellent temporary teachers.”
With the action taken by the School Board on May 19 to reinstate class size reduction at the third grade level, 10 more temporary teachers could be offered a job, said Tate. She has met individually with all the elementary principals to identify their staffing needs and has requested all temporary employees write a letter for human resources asking to be considered for available positions, listing a preference if they have one.
Barrett Elementary, for example, has five openings as a result of retirements and resignations, Tate said. The school currently has four temporary teachers.
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