As economic crisis worsens, Sacramento school district approves dozens of layoffs
Sacramento City Unified school board members approved to a motion to lay off classified employees Thursday night during a board meeting over Zoom.
The 46.5 full-time equivalent positions, which include bus drivers, clerks, campus monitors, yard duty employees and instructional aides will be eliminated effective July 1. A number of those positions were vacant, and several were tied to one-time funds and 17 grants that were expiring. It would cost nearly $1 million for the district to cover the positions that were initially paid for by grants, officials said.
It’s unclear how many people will lose their jobs in total, but officials said about ten positions were not part of a limited assignment or vacant.
“The district is not filling 50 more positions, a move that will further impact employees’ workloads, and it is laying off some classified employees in the middle of a pandemic,” said Karla Faucett, the chapter president of SEIU Local 1021, the unions that represents 1,950 classified employees in the district. “It feels like retaliation. This is the time we need to come together. SCUSD is behaving as the worst corporate employer.”
Several of the board members called the decision “heartbreaking” and difficult as concerns continue to rise over an economic crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
All but one board member approved the motion. Mai Vang opposed it, and suggested an alternative motion to only approve layoffs for vacant positions and positions paid for by grants.
Classified employees will begin receiving pink slip notices on April 13 and layoffs will occur by June.
Several community members and teachers were critical of the decision, making comments through messages that were read aloud by the district clerk. People were upset that the district was planning to move forward with the layoffs during an economic crisis as people stay home to help slow the coronavirus outbreak.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced all school districts will receive their full funding for the remainder of the school year. But the state didn’t provide waivers to districts, relieving them from already approved motions to vote on layoffs.
C.K. McClatchy High teacher Lori Jablonski called it a moral imperative to not lay off the employees.
Board President Jessie Ryan emphasized that anyone laid off will receive pay through the end of the school year.
“I could not do my job without the classified staff around me,” said district teacher Erin Duarte. “Historically, they have been ignored and perceived as expendable.”
Several people criticized the decision to lay off staff just weeks after district Superintendent Jorge Aguilar received a raise of $34,000 to his total compensation, increasing his overall salary and benefits to $414,000.
“The timing of the layoffs is an atrocity,” said SEIU Local 1021 union member Robyn Mutchler. CONTINUE READING: Sacramento City Unified schools lay off classified employees | The Sacramento Bee
