The school district doom and gloom continued as trustees
reviewed the layoff for next year, and how much money was tucked
away for expected mid-year cuts.
The school district doom and gloom continued as trustees reviewed the layoff for next year, and how much money was tucked away for expected mid-year cuts.
Morgan Hill Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini said during Tuesday night’s meeting that district staff has set aside $2.6 million for categorical programs, or specific programs for different groups of students like the Gifted And Talented Education program. Staff is looking at freezing another $2.6 million from the general fund, including about $1.3 million from the school district’s mandatory 3 percent reserve. Districts are able to use their reserve, but must pay it back within a year to two years. Tognazzini said state officials are looking at allowing districts to borrow from their reserves and not pay them back for a longer period of time to ease their financial burden.
“The Democrats are saying use your general fund not your categorical money, and the Republicans are saying use the categorical not your general fund, and we don’t know which one will win,” Tognazzini said. So, they’re freezing money from both.
For teachers, the district will send out pink slips, or notices saying they may be laid off next school year, by March 15. Teachers who will be laid off will receive a final notice May 14.
Classified employees, or custodians, teachers aides and other Service Employees International Union members, will receive pink slips by April 29. For them, the pink slips serves as the final notice.
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Jay Totter said he didn’t know how many pink slips they would be sending out.
Totter said the district already scratched the surface with the current year’s $3 million in cuts, which started as 23 pink slips and ended with 17 layoffs.
“We’re adding to what’s already been cut,” Totter said. “Whether it will be worse or better we don’t know yet. We’re just trying to figure out what we can do. And of course, it’s very unsettling for everybody.”
In December, Superintendent Alan Nishino released a form letter to parents for a letter-writing campaign imploring state legislatures to solve California’s $40 billion deficit. In the letter, Nishino says the district will look at closing schools and canceling programs among its options for a sound budget next year.
Closing schools would mean fewer administrators and less upkeep.
Some teachers spoke at the Tuesday meeting, airing their concerns about district openness during this tight fiscal time.
“Be collaborative, communicate, keep information out in the public,” urged Federation of Teachers President Donna Ruebusch.
Barrett Elementary School teacher Teresa Colbert agreed.
“Rumors are flying about the state budget, the seniority lists are being posted and we’re expected to sign them,” she said, referring to the first procedure that leads to pink slips. “You must know something by now. It’s not fair to keep us in limbo. We’d rather hear bad news than no news at all.”
Tognazzini said that the district is “definitely moving, but moving in the dark.
“We honestly don’t know what those numbers will be.”
