District will issue layoff notices to 100 teachers
By Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 9, 2008
Carlsbad Unified School District trustees unanimously approved issuing layoff notices to 100 teachers yesterday in a move clouded by uncertainties over the state budget for 2008-09.
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The state faces a shortfall that some projections peg as high as $20 billion, but a final state budget is not expected until late summer or even into the fall.
That has left school districts across California making educated guesses over next year's budget. Based on the latest state funding information, Carlsbad Unified must cut $4.5 million from its budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year that begins July 1.
In February, Carlsbad Unified announced that 187 teaching positions could be cut. State law requires public school districts to issue final layoff notices to employees with teaching credentials by May 15.
The 100 layoffs in Carlsbad break down this way: 54 elementary school teachers, 34 middle and high school teachers, six counselors, five special education teachers and one school nurse.
The school district also is not planning to rehire 30 temporary teachers.
Class sizes at all levels will likely increase, but it won't be clear by how much – or exactly how many classrooms will get bigger – until teaching assignments are settled. There's still a chance that some of the laid-off teachers could be hired back, depending on how the state budget evolves, district Superintendent John Roach said.
“That's not the end of the story,” Roach said of last night's vote. “There's so much more that can happen.”
Laura Bowen, president of the Carlsbad Unified Teachers Union, said the school district needs to work harder to keep teachers.
“I think 100 is a ridiculous number compared to other school districts,” Bowen said.
Bowen said district administrators won't have a clear idea of their staffing needs until they draw up master class schedules for the coming year – matching students to classrooms and then figuring out how many teachers they'll need.
“It is time-consuming, but they need to make it a priority and sit down to do it,” Bowen said. “These are people's livelihoods. They have mortgages to pay.”
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 9, 2008
Carlsbad Unified School District trustees unanimously approved issuing layoff notices to 100 teachers yesterday in a move clouded by uncertainties over the state budget for 2008-09.
Advertisement
The state faces a shortfall that some projections peg as high as $20 billion, but a final state budget is not expected until late summer or even into the fall.
That has left school districts across California making educated guesses over next year's budget. Based on the latest state funding information, Carlsbad Unified must cut $4.5 million from its budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year that begins July 1.
In February, Carlsbad Unified announced that 187 teaching positions could be cut. State law requires public school districts to issue final layoff notices to employees with teaching credentials by May 15.
The 100 layoffs in Carlsbad break down this way: 54 elementary school teachers, 34 middle and high school teachers, six counselors, five special education teachers and one school nurse.
The school district also is not planning to rehire 30 temporary teachers.
Class sizes at all levels will likely increase, but it won't be clear by how much – or exactly how many classrooms will get bigger – until teaching assignments are settled. There's still a chance that some of the laid-off teachers could be hired back, depending on how the state budget evolves, district Superintendent John Roach said.
“That's not the end of the story,” Roach said of last night's vote. “There's so much more that can happen.”
Laura Bowen, president of the Carlsbad Unified Teachers Union, said the school district needs to work harder to keep teachers.
“I think 100 is a ridiculous number compared to other school districts,” Bowen said.
Bowen said district administrators won't have a clear idea of their staffing needs until they draw up master class schedules for the coming year – matching students to classrooms and then figuring out how many teachers they'll need.
“It is time-consuming, but they need to make it a priority and sit down to do it,” Bowen said. “These are people's livelihoods. They have mortgages to pay.”
Labels: California, Carlsbad Unified School District, layoffs, San Diego
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