Here is the letter that Jonathan Raymond sent this weekend to all affected parties:
Dear Colleague:
Friday, March 12, was a very sad and difficult day for many of us.
As we have communicated in the past, the District is facing a $30.6 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 school year. On Friday, we took another painful step in overcoming this budget dilemma by sending out layoff notices. Balancing our budget is made even more difficult because the District has made over $144 million in cuts during the past seven years. By June 1, the District is again required to report on its fiscal solvency to the Sacramento County Office of Education. The report must include a balanced budget for 2010-11.
California school districts are required to notify certificated staff, which includes teachers, of possible layoffs no later than March 15. Due to the state’s budget process, school districts must determine the number of possible layoffs based on the state budget information available at the time.
Faced with this economic reality, on March 4, 2010 , the Board of Education adopted a number of resolutions to reduce or eliminate 430 full time equivalent ( FTE ) certificated positions. The Board of Education also adopted a resolution to release temporary employees and long-term substitute employees from employment for the 2010-11 school year.
The complexities of the layoff process legally required the District to notify more than 700 certificated employees of potential release and layoffs. The difference in number between total notices sent to employees and total positions listed on the resolutions is due to the following reasons: (1) not all district employees affected by the lay off are full-time (for example, two employees may share one full time position and many employees work in positions that are not full time); (2) multiple employees often share the same seniority date and/or hire date which presents the difficult choice of which one stays and which one is laid off, a process known as “tie-breaking”; and (3) the law insures certificated employee seniority rights through a displacement process known as “bumping.” Bumping is where a more senior employee’s position is eliminated and then this employee is able to displace junior employees with the same credentials and qualifications.
In the coming weeks, the District will continue to review all of its budget-related actions and update its budget projections. In addition, the tie-breaking criteria will be applied to reduce as many layoff notices as possible. More layoff notices will be rescinded during the layoff hearing process. Also, the District has reached agreements with SEIU, Teamsters, CSA and UPE that will result in savings. We are continuing talks with SCTA.
For your information, I’ve included some key dates in this process:
March 15-22—Tie-breaking criteria applied. Employee layoff notices rescinded, as appropriate.
President Obama (AP).
