Sacramento school board approves layoffs to help solve budget deficit
About 430 teachers and other school staff, 125 central office workers would lose jobs

By Maria L. Lopez

March 4, 2010 – Elementary class sizes will be larger and about 430 teachers and other school staff would lose their jobs under a plan approved by the Sacramento school board Thursday night for millions of dollars in spending cuts to close a $30.6 million budget deficit.
The Sacramento City Unified School District board voted unanimously Thursday night to approve the cuts to take effect in the next school year unless the district’s unions join the administration in agreeing to concessions to stave off some of the cuts.
Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond said the school district must close a $30.6 million deficit for the 2010-11 budget. The board approved Raymond’s plan to lay off about 340 teachers, 60 counselors, social workers and psychologists, about 38 school administrators and five school clerical workers.
Class sizes in kindergarten through third grade will be increased from about 25 students per class to 30 students under the plan. An agreement by employee unions to accept concessions is still in discussion and could help save jobs and keep class sizes smaller.
“These cuts in the budget definitely will impact our ability to educate children. Class sizes would be larger and good teachers would be lost. But we are hopeful that our continuing discussions with our employee bargaining units will be successful and we will be able to avert some of the job losses and some of the class size increases,” Superintendent Raymond said.
Employee health care benefits have skyrocketed 50 percent over the past five years. Teachers pay virtually nothing for health care. If the employee bargaining units would agree to a $50 per month insurance premium and three furlough days, the same number of furlough days as Superintendent Raymond and other unrepresented employees, the district could save $5.1 million and save up to 68 teachers’ jobs. Teacher jobs saved means smaller class sizes.
SCUSD has cut spending or enhanced revenues by $144 million since 2002, including deep cuts in administrative budgets as enrollment has declined and state revenues have been slashed.
In the new budget, the administration will make even deeper cuts, saving $5.95 million by eliminating 87 central office jobs. About 63 central office administrative employees, in addition, will receive layoff notices. Another $15 million savings will come from spending cutbacks for such state programs as assistance to struggling students, supplemental school counseling, regional occupation programs, adult education and school and facility maintenance funds.
Raymond said the district will save another $950,000 by making buildings more energy efficient, $253,000 in an across-the-board cut of 10 percent in central office budgets. $170,000 by reducing the number of high schools offering summer school from five to two, $30,000 by eliminating some district employee cell phones, $47,000 in computer software reductions, $15,000 in lower storage costs, and $85,000 in special education reductions.

Central administration makes more budget cuts
Savings
Central office layoffs                                    $5.95 million
Central office 10% budget cut                   $253,000
Energy efficient buildings                           $950,000
Eliminating some district cell phones     $30,000
Eliminating storage sites                           $15,000

The superintendent said laying off teachers, counselors, custodians and other school workers, and packing more children into every classroom in kindergarten through third grade are the last things he wants to do.
“I am still hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement with our employee unions and together we can reduce some of the impact of this very dire financial situation,” Raymond said.
California school districts are required under state law to notify teachers and other employees by March 15 of expected layoffs. School districts also are required on that day to report to the county offices of education their plans to balance their budgets for this year and the following two years.
 

Sacramento City Unified School District Web Site

This meeting of the Sacramento City School Board is videotaped in its entirety and will be cablecast without interruption on Metro Cable 14, the government affairs channel on the Comcast and SureWest Cable Systems. Today’s meeting will be replayed Sunday,

Or go to the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education Meeting Web Site  to watch the archive video of the meeting