103 Davis school layoffs outlined

By Jeff Hudson | Enterprise staff writer

Layoff notices for some 103 school district employees, further discussions regarding a renewal of the school district's instructional parcel tax, and a ranking of long-range priorities for facilities modernization will dominate Thursday's meeting of the Davis school board.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. in the Community Chambers at City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd.

Trustees will vote on two resolutions authorizing layoff notices, which reflect budget documents reviewed by the school board last month. The resolutions — which the trustees have described as “awful” — come in response to the $5.6 million shortfall that the school district faces, primarily as the result of drastic reductions in state funding for local school districts.

The resolution covering certificated positions (teachers, counselors, certain district administrators, etc.) would authorize layoff notices for 80.45 full-time-equivalent positions, spread over every campus in the school district:
Included are:

• Elementary instruction: 36 regular classroom teachers, 4 Spanish Immersion teachers and 1 Montessori teacher.
• Secondary instruction: 5 English teachers, 4 math, 3 physical education, 3 social science, 3 Spanish, 2 biological/life science, 2 health, 1 art, 1 industrial technology, 1 physical science, 0.8 computer technology, 0.6 fashion/textiles, 0.6 food sciences, 0.4 home economics, 0.4 agriculture and 0.2 woods.
• Educational services: 7 secondary counselors, 1 physical education specialist, 0.6 Gifted and Talented Education coordinator, 0.4 English learner coordinator.
• Administration: 1 Foreign Language Assistance Program grant manager, 0.5 adult school principal, 0.5 King High School principal, 0.25 co-director of special education.

The proposed resolution covering classified employees (secretaries, maintenance, custodial, certain district staff, etc.) likewise will affect every campus in the school district, with 22.75 full-time-equivalent totals: 6 secretaries, 5 custodians, 3.2 secretary II, 2 campus safety supervisors, 1.75 interpreters, 1 maintenance specialist II, 0.8 customer service representative, 0.5 publications coordinator, 0.5 warehousing/distribution coordinator, 1 director of maintenance and operations, 1 supervisor of custodial services and 0.2 school climate activities coordinator.

Thursday's vote by the school board regarding layoffs will not be final. If the school district and the two bargaining units — the Davis Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association — reach agreements regarding a proposed five-day reduction in services, the number of layoff notices that become final could be reduced.

Thursday's school board meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Community Chambers at Davis City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd., Davis. The meeting will be televised on Davis cable Channel 17 and carried live as streaming video at http://www.djusd.tv.

This article originally appeared in the Davis Enterprise February 17, 2010. The complete story is available to subscribers at http://www.davisenterprise.com.