By Jeff Hudson, Enterprise staff writer

Teachers and classified employees in the Davis schools are closer to agreeing to furlough days in an effort to save some jobs from elimination, union leaders told the Davis Board of Education on Thursday.

If furloughs aren't agreed to, the school board will be forced to issue layoff notices to 102 employees, thanks to a $5.6 million budget shortfall, the largest in the school district's history. Board members are scheduled to vote Feb. 18 to approve the layoff resolution, which has been triggered by drastic cuts in state funding.

Jim Herrington, president of the local unit of the California School Employees Association, said his bargaining unit had reached conceptual agreement on five furlough days in the coming academic year. The CSEA represents secretaries, custodians and others.

Ingrid Salim, president of the Davis Teachers Association, also indicated that the DTA and district officials are making progress in discussions about accepting five furlough days.

An agreement with both bargaining units would save an estimated $1 million, the equivalent of 16 teaching positions or a mix of teaching and classified positions, district officials said.

Salim also thanked the school board for approving a retirement incentive that also could reduce the number of layoffs. The incentive plan — approved as part of Thursday's consent agenda — will be offered to employees age 55 or higher who have been with the district at least five years, and to employees age 50 or higher who have been with the district for 20 or more years. The incentive would be a payment between 60 percent and 80 percent of the employee's highest salary with the district.

The exact percentage depends on how many employees participate in the retirement incentive plan; the amount would be paid over several years. Retirements must be submitted to the district before April 16.

Salim described the plan as “very fair and reasonable.” It's not clear yet how many layoffs might be avoided by the retirement incentive.

Robert Woolley, president of the Davis Schools Foundation, also announced that the nonprofit group — which has raised and granted $1.77 million to the schools over the past five years — will launch another fundraising campaign by the end of the month.

Those who don't want to wait can donate now, at http://www.davisschoolsfoundation.org.

Retired Davis High School counselor Carol Boyer spoke of the devastating effects if seven of the school district's counseling positions are eliminated, as called for in the layoff resolution. That would leave just one counselor at each of the three junior high schools (serving approximately 700 students at each junior high), with four counselors at Davis High School, one at Da Vinci High, and one serving King High and the Davis School for Independent Study.

“The quality of the counseling program that the Davis community has grown to expect would simply no longer exist,” Boyer said.

Parent Alicia Mattson, the mother of an elementary school student, said she would rather pay an additional $40 per month in the form of a local parcel tax, over and above the district's existing $320 per year in parcel taxes for Davis homeowners, rather than see the layoffs take effect.

She said paying the additional money would not be easy for her family — “my husband is the sole breadwinner, he works for the state” where employees are furloughed three days a month — “and our financial picture is not pretty.”

“We understand that the district just got handed a $5.6 million bill (by the state). But $40 a month is a steal for what we get” from the school district, she said.

Trustee Sheila Allen, whose day job is with an AIDS prevention program in the Yolo County Health Department, mentioned that “two weeks ago, I received my layoff notice. My job's gone at the end of February. They took away my job, and took away my program.”

Allen asked teachers who will be receiving layoff notices by March 15 to remember that “your job goes through the end of the school year — please hang in there, do it for the kids.”

Allen also noted that the existing parcel tax measures (2007's Measure Q and 2008's Measure W) are sustaining teaching positions and programs that many other school districts are cutting.

“If we did not have our parcel tax, instead of a $5.6 million problem (with our budget), we would have an $11.6 million problem,” Allen said.

Trustee Susan Lovenburg likewise indicated she was bowled over by the magnitude of the layoffs.

“I'm past shocked ... (I'm) trying not to get numb,” Lovenburg said. She also noted that “it could still get worse” is the governor cuts more education funding in his May budget revisions.

Trustee Richard Harris scanned the layoff list and concluded “It is what it is, and it's awful. There is nothing about this list that is good.”

“There is not much more to say,” added school board president Tim Taylor, glumly.

Trustee Gina Daleiden said “last year we made horrible budget cuts, but they were strategic in nature. Then we got the same amount of cuts to make again this year (from the state), plus more. Now the cuts are way beyond strategic. We're hurting our program. ... It is very difficult to be laying off portions of our staff that are very important to our kids.”

Student board representative Katie Wynne read the list of positions to be eliminated, and said she knew many of the names of teachers and staff that fill those positions.

“As a student who's going to be here next year — these are my teachers. Teachers I care about aren't going to be here next year. ... Thank you, teachers. You are our heroes.”

— Reach Jeff Hudson at jhudson@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8055. Comment on this story at www.davisenterprise.com

This article originally appeared in the Davis Enterprise on February 5, 2010. The complete story is available to subscribers at http://www.davisenterprise.com.