Final layoff notices for Eureka City Schools certificated staff was approved by the ECS board at a special meeting Tuesday night.
They came in slightly under the original projection of 90 positions that were “pink-slipped” in March. Now, an estimated 72 positions will possibly not be re-employed for the 2008-09 school year.
Due in part to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed 4.8 billion across-the-board cuts to education, which amounts to $3.4 million in ECS district alone, coupled with the ongoing issue of declining enrollment, the district was faced with the reality of having to make cuts to certificated and classified staff and programs for the 2008-’09 school year, which resulted in a complete reorganization of its district for next year.
Having made the final vote on exactly how the reorganization will occur at its last board meeting on May 7, the district then had to make the final step in the layoff process Tuesday as mandated by the education code requiring that final layoff notices be served before May 15.
Between the time the preliminary pink slips were distributed in March to Tuesday night’s final decision, staff members had an opportunity to have a hearing to determine if there was just cause to not be re-employed. The hearings took place on April 21 and 23 and more than half of the certificated staff who were given pink slips were respondents in the matter.
At the last board meeting, Eureka Teacher’s Association President Patrick Riggs implored the board to not cut any more teachers’ jobs as board members navigated through the overwhelming budgetary decision-making process of how to reorganize the district.
“I’m here because about one-third of our members are looking at losing their jobs,” he told the board. He said the ETA understood cuts were inevitable: “We understand that. We’re realistic,” he told board members; but added, “We want (the board) to do it in a proportionate manner.”
According to Administrative Law Judge Melissa G. Crowell’s ruling, the district acted within its jurisdiction pursuant to appropriate education codes and found that “cause exists,” to make the cuts in staff that had been made; even though she herself called the amount of cuts, “astonishing,” according to Riggs.
Superintendent Gregg Haulk said the layoffs are necessary for the district to retain some flexibility while awaiting the governor’s May revise, which could be far worse than originally projected; but remains optimistic that many teachers and staff will be re-hired as the reorganization begins to take place this summer.
“Eureka City Schools will be hiring back employees in the next couple of weeks and more than likely hiring temporary positions into August,” he said.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting will take place at the office of education at 3200 Walford Ave. in Eureka on May 21 at 7 p.m.
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In Whose best interest?
It is infuriating to see what the Eureka City School District is going through in regards to decisions made by the board and superintendent. After going through hearings regarding the 87 teacher layoff for next school year, after hiring an outside agency to evaluate the district and provide a list of whom to lay off and ignoring the advice, after refusing to cut any administrative positions or administrative secretaries or offer early retirement incentives the district still finds itself in a negative budget situation. If the superintendent would eliminate 1 of the 3 assistant superintendent positions and the administrative secretary involved, that would save 3 teachers from being fired. If the superintendent and the board would offer early retirement incentive, as other California districts have, teachers that plan on retiring in the next year or two would, in all probability, retire now. That will also save a few teachers’ jobs. Instead the board has asked Eureka High School’s counseling department to find a way to increase class size in order to cut more teachers. State and Federal mandates are being completely ignored. For just the math department at Eureka High School, 9.4 math teachers are needed to minimally staff next year’s state mandated classes that are already at full capacity, but 6 math teachers are being fired. Doing the math, that leaves 3 teachers to instruct all the students. Ask your school district what is happening with the Advanced Placement classes that students need to take in order to have the competitive edge when applying for admission to colleges. Adding another aspect to stir the pot, Eureka High School is due for their WASC accreditation process. WASC stands for Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Quoted directly from their website: “This certification assures the public that the school is a trustworthy institution of learning, validates the integrity of a school’s program and student transcripts, and assures a school community that the school’s purposes are appropriate and being accomplished through a viable educational program.” In addition: “Accreditation is required with respect to the Cal Grants, colleges and universities examine transcripts to determine if the students have attended accredited institutions, and teachers will not receive credit for the years during which they taught at a non-accredited school by many schools/districts nationwide. WASC receive calls from school personnel who are recruiting applicants for teaching positions with respect to their prior schools of employment.” The decisions made by the board and superintendent are seriously placing this accreditation in jeopardy. Think of what will happen to the high school students if Eureka High School loses its accreditation. The board is called to serve the community and the best interests of the students. Is that happening? Be an informed community. Find out what decisions your board and superintendent are implementing. Just last night, Tuesday, the board upheld letting go of 72 teachers. Teachers are being blamed for the state of affairs the district is in, but how can they be blamed when teachers are the ones in the trenches, instructing their students and following the mandates of the state and federal government. This district is losing quality professional tenured teachers because of the board and superintendent’s inflexibility and unreasonableness. Upon whose best interests are they acting? Certainly not the students nor teachers!
Marylou Kiratzis, Solvang
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